Players won't tour without MoU

No Australian players will sign contracts nor take part in the Australia A tour of South Africa unless an MoU is agreed between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association, but selected squad members have agreed to take part in a training camp in Brisbane from Monday ahead of the proposed trip.

The decision, reached by the ACA's executive and a large gathering of male and female players in Sydney on Sunday - the men's national team captain Steven Smith dialled in from holidays in the United States - allows the two parties a little more time to find some middle ground without players immediately withdrawing from pre-season plans. It also confirms that all players, whether on multi-year deals with their states or not, will refuse to play without an MoU.

"It's not an easy thing to do. Individually, I really want to play cricket. I haven't played cricket for a long time. It's the same with all the other guys," Usman Khawaja, named Australia A captain for the tour, said. "But we're very united. It was quite an easy phone call in the end because everyone was going in the same direction.

"We're still going to be training this week, going up there, doing our thing and getting ready. Hopefully something can be resolved but if it's not it's just a tough decision that sort of has to be made at this time."

A CA spokesman said the board reiterated its desire to talk with the ACA. "Cricket Australia (CA) notes the Australian Cricketers' Association advice that players are unavailable to tour South Africa in the absence of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)," he said. "Australia A is a development tour which gives players an opportunity to perform at a high level. It is therefore surprising that players would elect not to tour. However, CA has never and would never attempt to force anyone to play for an Australian team who is unwilling to do so.

"CA remains ready to negotiate a new MoU and has again called on the ACA to show genuine flexibility and commence negotiations in the best interests of the players and the game."

State players, both in and out of contract, had already indicated their willingness to continue training after the July 1 lapsing of the previous MoU, which has left as many as 230 players unemployed. CA had declared on Friday that all money originally intended for those players would instead be diverted directly to grassroots programs - a figure estimated to be worth about A$1.2 million a fortnight. The board's lead MoU negotiator, Kevin Roberts, sent an internal memo to all staff emphasising how valuable this money would be to the game's lower levels.

"The players have resolved that, unless contractually obliged, no male or female players intend to play for a Cricket Australia (CA) team whilst fellow players remain unemployed due to the absence of an MoU," an ACA spokesman said. "This is an outright rejection of CA's attempts to divide and rule. It is a resolution, which will be revisited at the next and subsequent ACA Executive meetings, since the players remain hopeful that common sense will prevail and a new MOU can still be agreed on fair terms.

"The Executive noted that all players with valid and enforceable contracts (such as multi-year State or BBL deals) will continue to honour them, and will expect their employers to do the same. This includes an expectation of the players sharing in revenue as contained in those contracts. If this is not honoured by their employer, then the enforceability of these contracts will also become questionable.

"The Executive noted legal advice that a State Player may "accept" or reject an offer to participate on a Tour with CA, such as the proposed Australia A Tour of South Africa. Australia's Women's World Cup Squad will continue and complete their tournament as they agreed to do in good faith prior to the expiration of the MoU. The ACA wished them the best in their endeavours."

The ACA went on to explain why the players do not feel obligated to make the Australia A tour of South Africa - or other subsequent touring assignments such as the Test tour of Bangladesh or the limited overs tour of India that follows it - in the absence of an existing MOU. This includes all state players currently under contract.

"All Australian professional cricketers are not obliged to and are unavailable to Tour South Africa as a part of the Australia A team without an agreed MoU," the spokesman said. "Unless contractually obliged, no player intends to Tour for a Cricket Australia team whilst others are unemployed courtesy of the expired MoU. [The ACA is] in possession of legal advice examining the MoU and mandated player contracts that the players cannot be contractually required by CA to participate and play in an international Tour, including the Proposed Australia A Tour, beyond 30 June 2017 because:

"In the case of CA Contracted Players, their contracts with and obligations to CA will all have expired on 30 June 2017. In the case of the more than 50% of State Contracted Players, their contracts with and obligations to CA (and their State Associations) will have expired on 30 June 2017.

"In the case of the remaining State Contracted Players on multi-year contracts extending beyond 30 June 2017, their State Player Contracts and the MOU acknowledge that a player can either 'accept' an offer by CA to Tour or not; there is no compulsion to do so. Also for the period beyond 30 June 2017 there are many important issues that are not agreed in the State Player contract, such as the form of Tour Contract that would apply if no MOU is in place, the applicable Squad, Team and Tour Payments and any applicable list of CA protected sponsors."

Looking further ahead, the ACA said that in the event of a dispute that could threaten series such as this year's Ashes bout with England, the association would look at offering the players back to CA "on the right terms". "To rescue the Tours and the Summer of Cricket referenced above, if there was no agreed MOU, the ACA will be discussing with the players the assignment to the ACA of an exclusive option to employ or second them," the spokesman said.

"'In contract players will also participate in the discussion regarding assigning rights to the ACA to allow them to Tour. This means the ACA could offer to facilitate the availability of players on the right terms to assist those games and series that we all wish to see played. This may extend to the ACA offering the players back to CA on the right terms for the purposes of rescuing the Summer of Cricket. This would be best achieved by an agreed MOU.

"This option is available to the ACA and could be exercised absent an agreed MOU. It should be regarded as an option for rescuing tours and the Summer of Cricket absent an agreed MOU which remains the clear preference."

The players also agreed to the possibility of legally testing issues around restraint of trade should CA either refuse to grant No Objection Certificates for players seeking to play overseas T20 tournaments, or if players were banned by ICC regulations from participating in "disapproved" exhibition matches during the dispute.

"Players have resolved to support any out of contract players who are restrained from post-employment professional cricket opportunities," the spokesman said. "This would apply to any refusal to provide an out of contract player with a No Objection Certificate (NOC). It would also apply to any threat to lock players out of future employment opportunities if they engage in an 'exhibition game' to raise money for their unemployed teammates."