Cricket Australia braces for turmoil as pay dispute rages on; Ashes series under threat

Sydney: Cricket Australia and the country`s players looked set to miss a deadline to resolve a pay dispute on Friday, potentially leaving players unemployed and threatening fixtures including this year`s Ashes series.

The current Memorandum of Understanding between CA and the Australian Cricketers` Association (ACA) expires at midnight (1400 GMT) with hopes of a late breakthrough fading fast.

The warring parties have failed to come to an agreement over revenue-sharing, and almost 230 players will be out of contract and will not be paid a retainer until a new MoU is agreed.

Players who are on multi-year contracts that go beyond June 30 will continue to be paid, and will be required to play and train as before.

The Australia A tour to South Africa in July is the first in the firing line, with its fate unknown if a new accord is not struck.

Australia`s Test tour to Bangladesh in August and September and the lucrative one-day international series in India in September are also at risk, along with the showpiece home Ashes Test series against England later this year.

The women`s team are currently competing in the World Cup in the United Kingdom. They have a special contract that will run until the tournament is complete.

Players are due to assemble in Brisbane for training on Monday ahead of the scheduled Australia A tour of South Africa. The first tour match is supposed to start on July 12.

Reports said that CA could hand out-of-contract stars like Glenn Maxwell and Usman Khawaja tour contracts that would ensure their participation in the series, although there is also the possibility of a boycott if no agreement is reached.

The ACA board and executive are set to hold a meeting in Sydney on Sunday where they will consider the players` response should the agreement lapse and the bulk of contracted cricketers become unemployed.

CA want to modify the current pay model whereby players receive a share (around 25 percent) of agreed cricket-related gross revenue, and replace it with a revised offer to divide a portion of surpluses among all players as well as deliver pay rises for men`s and women`s international and domestic cricketers.

The updated offer, made last Friday, was rejected by the ACA which remains staunchly opposed to any move away from a revenue-sharing model.

The players` union released its own proposal last March under which the definition of revenue is broadened and players receive a smaller (22.5 percent) share.

That was rejected by CA, which said it retained the "inflexible" income-based revenue model to distribute payments. Since then, negotiations have remained at a virtual standstill.