Australia's "A" tour of South Africa has fallen victim to the drawn-out pay dispute with the squad deciding not to travel in the absence of a revised deal. With talks between the union and the governing body deadlocked, around 230 players were left effectively unemployed when the previous five-year agreement expired at the end of last month. At the heart of the acrimonious dispute is Cricket Australia's insistence that the two-decade-old model, under which players get a fixed percentage of revenue, should be jettisoned. Cricket Australia believes the revenue-share model is unfit for modern times and is starving grass-roots cricket of funding, while players say it has underpinned the game's growth and prosperity over the past 20 years. The ACA, however, welcomed the latest round of talks, believing it has boosted hopes of an imminent resolution.

Source: The Star July 15, 2017 06:11 UTC