- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The current pay dispute between Cricket Australia and its players has reached a new low, with the parties no longer talking and Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland demanding that players sign the Cricket Australia offer by June 30th, 2017 or they will be unemployed.
While this threat sounds like something from a bygone era, it also raises questions about the necessity for Cricket Australia itself to perform its relatively small role in bringing international cricket series to Australians.
If Cricket Australia can’t reach agreement with its playing talent, someone else ultimately will. To conduct an international cricket series such as the Ashes in Australia is a major production, but most of the heavy lifting is actually performed by others, rather than Cricket Australia.
Cricket grounds are well established and well practiced at hosting international cricket, if Cricket Australia closed its doors tomorrow, the venues would still prepare wickets and host thousands of fans.
The ticket agencies, with which these venues each have contracts, will continue to operate their online ticket sales as they do for other events throughout the year. Major networks, particularly Channel Nine will already have sold the advertising space, have mastered television coverage and don’t need any involvement from Cricket Australia.
The ICC employs the umpires, balls are provided by those suppliers and fans know how to buy tickets and get to the grounds to watch their cricket heroes. An opposition is fairly critical to a Test series, but thankfully overseas teams consider an Australian series a critical sporting and economic fixture.
Which brings us to the Australian players themselves, the talent we all want to see play cricket. From June 30th they will, it seems no longer be contracted employees or partners of Cricket Australia, meaning they are free to pursue other contracts of employment.
The grounds will be ready, the players and opposition prepared, umpires focused, tickets available and Channel Nine ready to welcome us to the first day’s play at the Gabba. The only party not prepared would be Cricket Australia itself.
Will Cricket Australia be missed? Given that the players are no longer bound by contracts, and that all these other parties are reliant on international cricket to financially survive during summer, the market will inevitably and quickly fill the role Cricket Australia performs. In the entertainment industry, Cricket Australia’s role is referred to as the ‘promoter’.
If Adele decides she wants to tour Australia, at least five major promoters will be pitching for the role. They will each present their offer to the performer and a choice will be made.
If one ‘promoter’ is unable to meet the performer’s expectations others will find a way to do so. Once appointed the ‘promoter’ then deals with all the parties we have discussed earlier, to deliver the major event.
Cricket Australia is behaving like it is the only possible promoter of international cricket in Australia, but if it ends its contracts with its players as it has threatened to do, the market will quickly fill the void. Stadium operators, networks, ticket agencies, players and the ICC all have an economic imperative for international cricket to be played.
Most of these parties will not miss Cricket Australia, they already deal with promoters and each other throughout the year when conducting other major events.
Cricket Australia needs to resolve this dispute or face the prospect of losing its monopoly over the role of international cricket promoter in Australia. If this occurred, they would face a future focused only on grassroots cricket administration, the loss of most, if not all revenue, and ultimately for the individuals, the loss of their employment.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.