ACA president Greg Dyer takes parting swipe at CA
Greg Dyer
With cricket’s ‘Pay’ war finally over, players’ union president Greg Dyer has taken a thinly veiled swipe at Cricket Australia for its role in the dispute, but CA chief James Sutherland is hopeful the saga can quickly be put in the rear-view mirror.
The Australian Test squad will next week fly to Darwin for a training camp ahead of a two-Test series in Bangladesh beginning later in the month after CA and the Australian Cricketers Association reached a Heads of Agreement which paves the way for a new Memorandum of Understanding.
It comes after a 10-month process which led to many of Australia’s cricketers being out of work for more than a month, the cancellation of an Australia ‘A’ tour of South Africa, and even put this summer’s Ashes series in doubt.
As such there was a sense of regret from both sides about the toll the process had taken on Australian cricket. Sitting alongside ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson in the MCG indoor nets to announce the agreement, Sutherland said he was confident that by the start of the upcoming summer the feud would be a distant memory, but conceded the road to compromise had been bumpy. “This process hasn’t been easy, and history will judge whether it was all worth it in the end,” Sutherland said.
“There’s no denying that the debate itself has at times been difficult, and even acrimonious. Relationships within the game have been tested, and I know that’s been a bit of a turn-off for some fans. I think I can speak for Alistair when I say that both parties very much acknowledge and regret that, and now it’s very much up to us to put that behind us.
“In announcing this agreement, we’re restoring certainty, and beginning to repair relationships, especially with the fans. We want the focus to be back on the cricket.”
Yet while Nicholson was measured in his approach, Dyer said this MOU process should be a cautionary tale, implying the players had been largely blameless. “The players did not choose this route and did not enjoy being on it. In fact, the players resented it deeply. This was not a fight the players started. The players defended themselves as is fair and as is their right,” Dyer said in a statement.
“There is also a reality to confront. Yes, we’ve arrived at a great place but the game must never again take this same route.”
Questioned about bruised relations between the parties, Sutherland was optimistic despite concerns mistrust could linger despite the resumption of normal operations. “I guess time will tell on that. I’d like to think that in many ways its good sport and that we can all shake hands at the end of it and move on,” Sutherland said.
“The important thing is to look forward, to appreciate the game we love and the fact that we have a lot more in common than not, and I’m really confident that those relationships will be strong.
“It’s our job as administrators to support the Australian players, and those in state associations as well, to give their best effort on the field and hopefully for Australian cricket teams to win.”
Nicholson said the healing would not happen instantly. “That will take some time. But that’s something we’ll now work through together and for the good of the game. I think that’s an important part of what both our boards and our organisations can do,” Nicholson said.
He also refuted a suggestion that the players’ public reputations had been hurt by what had transpired in recent months.
- Courtesy Sydney Morning Herald