Cricket Australia in favour of arbitration to resolve pay row

Cricket Australia (CA) are in favour of independent arbitration if their pay dispute with the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) is not resolved by next week.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said that an independent arbitration is the only logical step left.

While he hoped an agreement would be reached by next week, he also suggests that the matter could be taken to an independent industrial umpire and CA would accept any decision.

He called on the players to ‘take up the challenge’ and settle their dispute with CA.  He also hoped that an arbitration won’t be required.  

"We believe now is the time for the game to get on, to get played, preparation for tours and the season ahead to happen," he said.

"And to that end, we're prepared to take residual issues to arbitration and we're prepared to take whatever decision comes, in cricketing parlance we're prepared to accept the umpire's decision and move on.

"We encourage the ACA and the players to take up that challenge and hopefully arbitration is not required."

According to ABC report, the chief of CA also said that they had put forward a deal that would see players immediately contracted in the short term, while the finer details of the MOU were resolved and came into effect.

Regarding the proposed ‘peace plan’ by ACA, Sutherland said: "Certainly as we do our analysis on that plan, we find that cricket as a whole is actually worse off and certainly our ability to fund greater investment in grassroots is compromised by the way that plan is put together,"

Australia is due to play a two-Test series in Bangladesh in late August and there have been doubts about whether the tour would go ahead.

James Sutherland issued a media release and proposed a process for reaching an agreement on the MOU.