Australia's cricketers unhappy with bonus pay structure
Tuesday 7 February 2017 07:40, UK
Australia's cricketers have demanded a review of performance-related pay for contracted players who stand to take another financial hit after an under-strength one-day international team was defeated by New Zealand last week.
Selectors rested players for the series in order to cope with the demands of a packed international schedule.
In addition to the 2-0 defeat by New Zealand, an under-strength Australia side was whitewashed 5-0 by South Africa in another ODI series last November.
These results lead to lower pay packets for the players because of the defeats.
In addition to series losses, players' bonuses are also linked with world ranking positions in all three formats of the game, and Australia could lose their No 1 spot if South Africa beat Sri Lanka in two ODI fixtures this week.
Players, who have been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with governing body Cricket Australia, said the performance-based system needed to be revisited.
Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Alistair Nicholson said: "The performance pool was agreed in the last MOU negotiation but now we have a system that needs to be reviewed.
"There is a situation when this model is combined with the overlapping of the schedule and having players rested, it will need revisiting in the MOU negotiations.
"The ACA will be exploring both the schedule and the performance pool as part of the current discussions."
