Pay squabble horrible for game, Clarke says

Former captain Michael Clarke said Sunday a bitter pay dispute between players and Cricket Australia was horrible for the game and their relationship was likely to be in tatters even after a resolution. After months of negotiations, the players and CA have failed to reach agreement on a new pay deal, leaving 230 cricketers unemployed since the end of June when their contracts expired. CA chief executive James Sutherland said last week that unless intensive negotiations over a revenue-sharing deal produced a compromise by early this week, his organisation would seek the intervention of an industrial umpire to resolve the impasse.

Michael Clarke has urged the ACA to engage in arbitration if agreement on a new MOU is not struck this week https://t.co/hpXtqckSOD pic.twitter.com/ckKBkkmNNd

— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) July 30, 2017

Clarke feared things would not be the same between the governing body and the players if and when the disagreement was finally resolved. "I think it's been horrible for the game, to be honest," Clarke said told commercial broadcaster Channel Nine.

I also said I believe the Players (ACA) will win if it does go to arbitration. https://t.co/0M5gnB3Yyr — Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) July 30, 2017

"There is no doubt what has happened will affect the relationship even more than it already was affected between players and Cricket Australia.

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Also Read: Warner hits back in bitter Australia pay row

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"The problem we have got now is that it is not just the Australian players that are affected", he added, saying the fans and the public were also involved in "the number one story in Australian sport". Negotiations between the two warring parties continued over the weekend, with the key issue a new revenue model.

Michael Clarke says Steve Smith could be more vocal in cricket's pay disputehttps://t.co/Wsx6B0RGGz

— Brisbane Times (@brisbanetimes) July 30, 2017

The players were paid from gross revenue for the past two decades, but CA now wants payments to come from a set pool, with players to share only in surplus revenue. Clarke said he could understand the arguments of both parties but added: "Whatever has been going on, it should have been done in private."

A very passionate response from @MClarke23 on just getting back to playing cricket. #9SportsSunday pic.twitter.com/Etp05L7b1l — Sports Sunday (@SportsSunday) July 30, 2017

The Test squad is due to go into camp on August 11 ahead of a Test tour of Bangladesh, which is in danger of being scrapped following the boycott of Australia A's tour to South Africa earlier this month. The long-running dispute also threatens Australia's one-day tour to India in September and October ahead of the showpiece home Ashes series, beginning in November.