Cricket Australia has growing concerns players are being "led up the garden path" in their pay fight and has declared it won't back down on plans to slash the revenue-share model.
In response to a Fairfax Media report on Sunday where it emerged players were frustrated by the lack of detail in CA's submission, the game's governing body has hit back, questioning whether the Australian Cricketers Association is up to the task of negotiating a new deal.
CA's inflammatory comments - and concerns - come with eight weeks remaining before the current memorandum of understanding expires.
The two parties, increasingly at odds, are due to meet for the first time in five weeks on Friday, with each side having had to postpone earlier dates because of personal or work circumstances. But CA is concerned by what it claims to be a lack of urgency from the players.
A well-placed CA source told Fairfax Media: "There is growing concern at the ACA's ability to represent the players effectively. We provided them with a detailed offer five weeks ago and we have received no detailed response from them with regard to that."
The ACA has rejected this claim, insisting it needed more detail on how CA's plan would be funded, and will release its response this week.
CA's final submission outlines how it wants the players to share in $419 million of payments over the next five years.
However, CA says as 80 per cent of revenue is uncontracted, with sponsorships and a new broadcast rights deal yet to be resolved, it cannot provide specifics. It has offered "a range of scenarios" in terms of revenue but claims the ACA has not asked for this. The ACA also denies this, claiming it has repeatedly asked for the information.
CA's submission for men and, for the first time, women, has CA-contracted male (up to $16 million) and female players (up to $4 million) sharing in a percentage of revenue. But CA argues it's no longer feasible for Sheffield Shield cricketers to share in these spoils, as they have done since the original MOU was brokered in 1997. The top female cricketers will earn about $200,000 a year.
CA has suggested the ACA, led by chief executive Alistair Nicholson, does not want to negotiate, in the hope the governing body will roll over under pressure.
"We are worried that it is under a mistaken assumption that we will eventually back down on the key issues if the players are not signed up by the end of the MOU," the source said.
"If that is their strategy, they are going to be disappointed and the players are likely to feel that the ACA has led them up the garden path because CA has no intention of backing down, whatever pressure is applied."
The ACA returned fire on Wednesday night, declaring: "CA are kidding themselves and these bully-boy tactics aren't going to fly."
The ACA also noted that CA indicated it would release its submission in January or February but waited until late on a draining Indian Test tour in March, when players were also about to go on leave, to do so. The ACA submitted its original proposal six months ago.
If a deal is not done by June 30, and an extension not agreed upon, the first series which could be impacted is an Australia A tour of South Africa. Players could boycott this or agree to go on a series-by-series contract. As the Southern Stars do not yet fall under the MOU, the women cricketers are on individual contracts, meaning their World Cup plans in July are unlikely to be affected.
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