AAP boycotts first day of Sheffield Shield

For the first time in as long as anyone can remember Australian Associated Press didn't send a reporter to the opening day of the Sheffield Shield season. The boycott in Adelaide and Perth was due to an interruption in negotiations with Cricket Australia over its terms for media accreditation, which has been an ongoing issue for news organisations over the past two seasons.

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, was confident the situation with AAP, the national news agency, would be resolved quickly. By Tuesday night the organisation had agreed to allow the reporters access to the domestic games before any signing off on the conditions for international fixtures. However, there was still no representation at the grounds on Wednesday.

The agency is due to be represented at a meeting in Sydney on Friday with Graeme Samuel, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman, to discuss sports news reporting in the country. AAP services major and regional news organisations around the country and today offered short stories written from the scorecards.

The international agencies AFP, Reuters and AP boycotted the season in 2008-09 on similar grounds and are unlikely to reach agreement with Cricket Australia over what they consider are basic journalistic rights to cover sporting events.