Cricket Australia, top players agree on revenue projections

Australia's leading players are paid on a revenue-sharing model

Australia's top cricketers have reached agreement with Cricket Australia that it should postpone its assessment of future revenue during the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The agreement announced on Saturday ended a one month impasse which followed the national body's projection in June of an almost 50 percent drop in revenue in the 2020-2021 financial year.

Cricket Australia has now removed the forecast and the Australian Cricketers' Association has withdrawn its notice of dispute over the Australian Cricket Revenue (ACR) forecast.

Australia's leading players are paid on a revenue-sharing model which means the revenue projection eventually might impact salaries for contracted men and women.

Cricket Australia was required under a memorandum of understanding with the players' union to provide a revenue projection by the end of April. It was then agreed to defer the projection for a month.

Under the new agreement CA will be able to provide a new projection later in the financial year when the prospects for the coming summer are clearer.

Cricket Australia officials are hopeful its big revenue-earners a tour by India and the Big Bash League will be able to be played in full stadiums. But a spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria state has caused new uncertainty and it is unlikely the Twenty20 World Cup will go ahead.

"Calculating revenue projections 12 months ahead during a once-in-a-century pandemic has not been without its challenges," CA said in a statement. "But we believe we have arrived at a position that provides all parties with greater certainty about how to navigate the next year.

"The ACR will be reassessed in due course, providing time to better assess the financial impact of the pandemic and calculate a clear projection for the year ahead."