30 years after Packer, the split is on again

[pasag]

From the front page of today's paper:

Showdown: 30 years after Packer, the split is on again

AUSTRALIAN cricket is on the verge of the game's biggest split since Kerry Packer launched World Series Cricket 30 years ago today.

Cricket Australia has written to 11 of the nation's top players - including captain Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist - berating them for signing a memorandum of understanding to play in the highly lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament in April and May.

The tone of the letter, written by Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and obtained by The Sunday Age, has been interpreted as a "declaration of war", a source close to the players has revealed.

Sutherland, outraged at not being consulted by the players before they signed with the IPL - where they could earn up to $1 million for a few weeks' work - has warned them they are in direct conflict with the terms and conditions of their CA contracts.

Repercussions for players could include being blackballed from future Australian teams, or being overlooked for future Cricket Australia contracts.

It is possible that the Indian tournament could clash with Cricket Australia's obligations in Pakistan after its March tour.

But one player agent says it is unwise for Sutherland to draw a line in the sand, warning that the row "could divide the game" - and that Cricket Australia is unlikely to come out on top.

"Cricket Australia doesn't want to put the players in a position where they might have to decide between playing for them or in India," the agent said.

"If a player is money-oriented, the IPL will win them over. They seem prepared to offer long-term deals and can pay more money. This could be a battle (CA) won't win."

Sutherland warned the players that he would not grant consent for them to play in the ICC-sanctioned competition, and claimed they signed the agreement without consulting their employer, Cricket Australia.

Other players at the centre of the showdown include Test and one-day heroes Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

Australians signed to long-term IPL contracts would get at least $150,000 a year to play 14 Twenty20 games over a 40-day period in India.

But some of Australia's top players could see their IPL incomes balloon to more than $1 million with extra payments for promotions and marketing engagements.

This is on top of their Cricket Australia contracts, which are worth a minimum of $140,000. But the real money is made in endorsement revenue: Ponting's yearly take is believed to be more like $4 million.

Ponting told ABC radio last month that money was the main reason Australia's cricketers signed with the IPL. "It's a very lucrative thing . . . and a very attractive thing for four to six weeks out of your year," he said.

The Sunday Age revealed last month that the Board of Control for Cricket in India had paid $2 million to sign the Australian players for the IPL.

But Sutherland's letter stated that "a number of significant issues remain unresolved", and confirmed that Cricket Australia would not consent to its contracted players' involvement.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/cricket-in-crisis/2007/12/01/1196394694106.html

 

[chaminda_00]

Haha

 

[skipper]

sensationalism in the news, that's all. This is usual for the australian board and the players every year.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I thought the IPL 20/20 was the legitimate one run by the Indian cricket board?

 

[Jono]

It is the legitimate one by the BCCI.

Cricket Australia still not happy with it.

 

[BoyBrumby]

It is the legitimate one by the BCCI.

Cricket Australia still not happy with it.

Evidently.

They're fighting out of their weight here tho. If it comes down to hard currency CA are down amongst the also rans when compared to their Indian conferes.

 

[TheLad]

This was the competition devised to avoid a split in the world game.

After the hard work that was done to avert the crises James Sutherland has just totally destroyed it from an Australian point of view.

 

[roseboy64]

Itstl.

 

[silentstriker]

Ironic if an official league causes a split.

In any case, $140k for 12 months of grueling cricket, or $150k for 40 days of Twenty20.



Hmmmm. Tough choice.

 

[Craig]

So is the ICL going ahead and is there any relevance towards it? I don't know about anybody else, but this is starting to confuse the hell out of me with what is going on. But you can't blame the players as if we were in their positions we would sign straight away.

But could this lead to a bunch of randoms playing for Australia back in the WSC era?

 

[silentstriker]

ICL is going ahead, and so is the IPL. ICL has already started.

 

[chaminda_00]

Jaques, Rogers, Hodge, Katich, Voges, Watson, Haddin, Noffke, MacGill, Tait, Hilf

Gun side too good for Pakistan IMO.

 

[Richard]

From the front page of today's paper:

Cannot believe this. The whole point of the IPL was that it was supposed to be deliberately scheduled around international commitments.

Well if something good comes of it you hope maybe it might be that the international schedule gets assuaged in order to make sure the IPL fits in easily.

 

[chaminda_00]

Cannot believe this. The whole point of the IPL was that it was supposed to be deliberately scheduled around international commitments.

Well if something good comes of it you hope maybe it might be that the international schedule gets assuaged in order to make sure the IPL fits in easily.

You want to move a Test Series back for Twenty20 tournment.

Everyone knew that there was never going to be a way to have 40 days without Test Cricket or ODIs. The plan was always that IPL didn't impact the India national schedule. And then Champions' League didn't impact the English, Indian, Australian and South African schedule.

 

[Richard]

You want to move a Test Series back for Twenty20 tournment.

Well, if it helps players earn mad sums of money like $150,000 for 4 weeks work, yeah. Especially if it's Bangladesh series that are removed. Or, better still, Twenty20 Internationals.

Everyone knew that there was never going to be a way to have 40 days without Test Cricket or ODIs. The plan was always that IPL didn't impact the India national schedule. And then Champions' League didn't impact the English, Indian, Australian and South African schedule.

It's a bit different with football, which is not tour-orientated.

 

[chaminda_00]

Well, if it helps players earn mad sums of money like $150,000 for 4 weeks work, yeah. Especially if it's Bangladesh series that are removed. Or, better still, Twenty20 Internationals.

It's a bit different with football, which is not tour-orientated.

Well the series that would be moved back in Australia v Pakistan, not Bangladesh or a T20I. Also the Champions' League is what they call the main tournment.

 

[NZTailender]

Jaques, Rogers, Hodge, Katich, Voges, Watson, Haddin, Noffke, MacGill, Tait, Hilf

Gun side too good for Pakistan IMO.

Legendary post imo.

 

[pup11]

This is dire i mean first the ICL and now IPL, BCCI just wanted to crush ICL with the its power and money and just to do that they have come up with a dire T20 tournament which not many are interested in no matter how star-studded it is.
Why should CA have any problems with their players joining the IPL when CA themselves are a joint-partner of this organisation.

 

[Richard]

Well the series that would be moved back in Australia v Pakistan, not Bangladesh or a T20I.

On this occasion, obviously, yes, as the fixtures are now set-in-stone - more long-term it'd be possible to manage the load and hopefully prioritise.

 

[chaminda_00]

This is dire i mean first the ICL and now IPL, BCCI just wanted to crush ICL with the its power and money and just to do that they have come up with a dire T20 tournament which not many are interested in no matter how star-studded it is.
Why should CA have any problems with their players joining the IPL when CA themselves are a joint-partner of this organisation.

Player burnt issues, they don't want any of their players that play both forms to play much domestic cricket. Especially domestic cricket outside Australia in either England or India. But it is kind of their fault as they got themselves a stupid schedule where it is impossible to keep all players fit for next 18 months. Now there are just trying to limit the domestic cricket these guys play, cus the stuffed up their own schedule to get as much money out of these players while they still have the golden generation.