Ian Chappell has praised the altruism of modern-day successor Steve Smith and his Test teammates, saying Cricket Australia unsuccessfully gambled on players’ greed in the ongoing spat.
Former Test captain Chappell was a leading figure in Australian cricket’s most meaningful and momentous pay fight, which came 40 years ago in the form of World Series Cricket.
Kerry Packer’s breakaway competition revolutionised many elements of the sport and ended the amateur era.
The stakes aren’t quite as high in the current dispute, which remains at a standstill as the June 30 deadlines fast approaches.
But the players have made it clear they’re willing to do whatever it takes to ensure Cricket Australia (CA) doesn’t scrap the revenue-sharing model that has shaped their salaries for 20 years.
Smith, David Warner and fellow Australia Test players would actually pocket a much higher wage if they accepted CA’s offer.
Instead they’re digging in, believing a fixed share of revenue is crucial to the health of the game and the future income of domestic players.
The hardline stance could mean they’re unemployed in July and, in a worst-case scenario, unavailable for this summer’s home Ashes series.
“I’m delighted the players are sticking together and staying strong on it,” Chappell told AAP.
“From afar it looks as though the board are trying to splinter the players, which I find a rather strange tactic.
“Maybe the board thought ‘you know what the players are like’. They were working on the theory of greed, that you keep the top blokes happy with money and they won’t care about the rest.
“It looks like they’ve picked the wrong target.”
(AAP Image/ Nine Network)
Any attempt to negotiate directly with players, such as floating the prospect of multi-year contracts to a select group, has proven unsuccessful.
CA chairman David Peever made it clear while serving as Rio Tinto’s managing director in 2012 that he felt unions were disruptive and should be removed from the bargaining process.
“There’s always faults on both sides in any blue like this but they have to come to the realisation that it’s a partnership … it can only work as a partnership,” Chappell said.
“Some ploys might work for Rio Tinto and might work with some businesses and some industries.
“But what you’ve got here is 100 per cent membership of a union.
“And cricketers are more than employees of a business. As a board you risk putting down your most important assets.
“It’s the top players who attract people to the game. To play, watch it on TV and at grounds.”
Chappell added the threat of players becoming freelancers, as flagged by Warner last week, was more real than ever.
“They could easily head off and do a Chris Gayle and be pretty well off,” he said.
“The board couldn’t stop them playing in any Twenty20 league because they’re not under contract.”
However, Chappell doubted whether the Ashes would be affected by the current impasse.
“There will be more posturing and eventually they’ll come to their senses,” he said.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood, one of the stars offered a multi-year deal by CA, noted overnight he wasn’t thinking about pay talks but “the ACA are our representatives so we trust and believe what they’re doing is best for the game”.
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