Contract set to expire between players, Cricket Australia

A Memorandum of Understanding between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) was set to expire at midnight Friday night. The two parties remain deadlocked over the issue of revenue sharing and negotiations have stalled for months.

A last-minute settlement that could prevent hundreds of Australian cricketers from becoming unemployed — and potentially disrupt the Ashes later this year — appeared to be fading on Friday.

Australia vice-captain David Warner has often said that the Ashes series will be at threat if the pay issue is not resolved before November. (REUTERS)

A Memorandum of Understanding between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) was set to expire at midnight Friday night.

The two parties remain deadlocked over the issue of revenue sharing and negotiations have stalled for months. There were no talks scheduled Friday between the parties, or for the weekend.

Read | Cricket Australia threatens Steve Smith and co over contract renewal

The next major development could occur on Sunday, when the ACA board and executive were set to hold a Sydney meeting and players planned to discuss their next steps in the stalemate.

The players’ union wants Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to enter emergency mediation and take charge of the dispute. Sutherland was back in his Melbourne office on Friday, having recently returned from a trip to England for International Cricket Council meetings.

Read | Cricket Australia warns players of unemployment if MoU is not signed

If the two parties are unable to agree on stop-gap measures, then more than 200 cricketers will technically be out of work on Saturday.

The Ashes series will be at threat if the situation is not advanced before November, a point that vice-captain David Warner has made in several interviews recently. The five-Test series against England is scheduled to begin Nov. 23 in Brisbane.

Cricket Australia has paid the women’s World Cup squad in advance for the ongoing tournament in England. It means the most pressing series at risk is next month’s Australia A tour of South Africa, with players set to assemble in Brisbane for training on Monday.