Australia captain Steven Smith has said a victorious Champions Trophy campaign will be the ideal bargaining chip for the players in their ongoing pay dispute with Cricket Australia. He was also confident this summer's Ashes will go ahead despite his deputy David Warner suggesting the players might miss the marquee series if CA did not retain the existing revenue distribution model, which is at the heart of the disagreements.
Smith's optimism comes amid talks that CA is reconsidering its stance on independent mediation. The Australian Cricketers' Association had offered the option to the board last week but it had been rejected. The ACA chief executive Alastair Nicholson will be in London later this week, and is expected to meet with CA chief executive James Sutherland and team performance manager Pat Howard to try and find a solution.
In any case, Australia's players feel they have an additional incentive ahead of the Champions Trophy. "If we win it will certainly be really good for the playing group," Smith said at Lord's where Australia conducted their first training camp. "We are sticking really strong together. We are backing what the ACA is doing back home. But as I said before it is about focussing on this tournament and making sure we are entirely switched on."
Smith admitted that he was unaware that CA were mulling over third-party mediation to break the deadlock that has flared up in the past month. "Okay, that is news to me," he said. "I am not sure. It is great that they [CA] are trying to sort things out. And as I said we are supporting the ACA and what they are doing. They are working really hard to get what the player group wants. I am sure everything will be resolved soon."
Doubts persist over what CA's next step would be. Sutherland had earlier sent a blunt missive to the players threatening their employment once their existing contracts expire on June 30. If the players did not accede to CA's pay proposal, which the ACA had rejected, Sutherland warned that they would not be paid under any new alternative model.
To safeguard the players' future, the ACA has set up the Cricketers' Brand, a company that will manage the players' intellectual property rights moving forward. Smith said the new venture had all the players' support. "Yeah, I think everyone's signed up to that. We are supportive of the ACA in what they are doing back home. They are working really hard with CA to get the deal right. And I am sure in time they will get that and everything will be okay for everyone involved."
Smith was hopeful that the impasse between the players and the board would be solved in time for the Ashes in November. "I saw the comments [Warner's on missing the Ashes]. I certainly don't think…Of course, we want to play in the Ashes. Of course, we want everything to go really well there. It is just about making sure the guys finalise a deal and get the MoU sorted and then everything will be fine. Certainly nothing from us that we don't want to play, we certainly want to be playing in the Ashes. Hopefully they will get things resolved soon and everything will be back to normal."