From November 12-15 the professional cricketers international peak body, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, will meet to discuss the future of the professional game.
Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, South Africa, Ireland, USA, Netherlands will be represented and sharing the visions of their men and women. Not all the major countries are members: India, as usual, runs its own shop. The Board of Control for Cricket in India pays its stars significantly and the proceeds of the IPL (where the TV rights alone are worth $9 billion for five years) have bolstered their coffers to the extent where a sustainable pension system props up former international and domestic players.
Modern Australian players want for nothing, in stark contrast to previous generations.Credit: AP
The contemporary professional Australian cricketer, male and female, have had the luxury of an independent body, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, to represent their needs, wants and facilitate their living wage since 1997. They don’t have to appear before the board to beg for money or sign contracts that shackle players to duty without reward.
The contemporary player is a true professional who can dedicate his or her full attention to being the best they can be; they don’t have to rush from work to make training before the light fails or pay for a gym session, or book a physio, or mix a rehydrating beverage – they don’t need a real job that pays the bills and hopefully allows paid or unpaid time off.
The contemporary player gets a guaranteed contract amount before they bowl a ball or swing a bat, allowing them to plan their life, buy a car, take out a mortgage, make some investments. For a single generation, the game, in Australia at least, has provided financial independence for male players. Women have caught up rapidly, as Ash Gardner or Phoebe Litchfield may attest, but there is still a long way to go.
I raise all this because I was saddened to read during the week that my old skipper Greg Chappell has hit on some tough times.
The Packer World Series Cricket revolution between 1977 and 1979 sped along the lines of least paid resistance, although that was not the only factor. Wages went up (they could scarcely have been lower) for a few years, but then only the match payment terms. There was no such thing as a contract that a player could rely on to pocket monthly for the bank manager to grant a loan.
I had my first mortgage loan application declined by a certain Australian bank because “cricket was not considered a regular and reliable income”. The fact that I had just been the player of the series in the 1982-83 home Ashes did not seem to cut much mustard.
I was player of series in Ashes but couldn’t get a home loan. Modern players don’t know how lucky they are
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28.10.2023
From November 12-15 the professional cricketers international peak body, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations, will meet to discuss the future of the professional game.
Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies, South Africa, Ireland, USA, Netherlands will be represented and sharing the visions of their men and women. Not all the major countries are members: India, as usual, runs its own shop. The Board of Control for Cricket in India pays its stars significantly and the proceeds of the IPL (where the TV rights alone are worth $9 billion for five years) have bolstered their coffers to the extent where a sustainable pension system props up former........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
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