Australia's cricketers agree new pay deal

Australia's players have finally agreed a new pay deal after months of negotiation to avoid a potential repeat of the recent sponsorship crisis that afflicted West Indies. The Cricket Australia board had wanted to hand out fixed contracts, but this was rejected by the Australian Cricketers' Association. The new four-year contract, which will come into effect from July, continues an existing arrangement where the state and international players share 25% of revenue generated by Cricket Australia.

In coming to an agreement before the June 30 deadline, the Australians have managed to avoid the tangle that West Indies cricket found itself in last month. Brian Lara and six other players missed the start of their home series against South Africa because of a contract dispute. Similarly, if the Australians had not agreed a deal, they would have been free to sign packages with rivals of the board's sponsors.

"The two parties were poles apart at the start," said a spokesman for the players' union, "and they've come to an agreement in quite a short time, so it's good." Bob Merriman, the chairman of the Australian board, said the deal was fair to both parties. "It pays Australian elite cricket players well," he said. "It encourages young, up-and-coming athletes to choose cricket as their professional sporting career option. It also offers Australian cricket improved ability to more aggressively drive participation in the game at a community level."

The Australian board also announced that interviews would take place with prospective replacements for Allan Border as national selector, and candidates would be considered at the next meeting in June. Border will continue as a director of both Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia. Another current selector, David Boon, has been reappointed for the next two years.