Players who fall out of contract if a new Memorandum of Understanding is not agreed upon by tomorrow night have been advised they will require permission to take part in overseas T20 competitions in line with existing ICC regulations.
In detailed correspondence sent to the Australian Cricketers’ Association and state associations (to be forwarded to all contracted men’s players and women’s players not currently involved in the ICC World Cup in England), CA’s Executive General Manager Pat Howard spelled out the obligations and potential pitfalls if a new MOU is not signed.
According to media reports based on that leaked correspondence, Howard has confirmed that players who do not hold a multi-year contract with a state association or a KFC Big Bash League franchise will be unemployed as of midnight tomorrow if – as seems certain – an agreement is not in place.
If that is the case, those who fall out of contract as well as those on multi-year deals will need to be issued with No Objection Certificates from CA if they wish to pursue playing opportunities in overseas tournaments such as the upcoming Caribbean Premier League and South Africa’s new T20 Global League.
That is in keeping with the ICC’s Operating Manual that stipulates an administrative body has the right to withhold a No Objection Certificate if a player’s participation in a domestic event “will in any way compromise the ability of the Foreign Player to comply with any contractual obligations owed by that player, including such obligations to the Relevant Member”.
The ICC regulations extend further and stipulate that No Objection Certificates are also required by players for up to two years after they announce their retirement from international cricket, which was implemented as a measure to prevent players walking away from the international game to pursue a career in domestic competitions.
Howard has reportedly advised players that all applications for NOCs will be assessed on a ‘case by case basis’ and also pointed out to them the ICC’s stipulation that any player who takes part in non-ICC approved events (such as exhibition matches) faces a six-month ban from all ICC-approved cricket.
Players who fall out of contract have been advised they are not required to train or undertake CA-related media commitments and public appearance but, should they wish to continue training with state squads, they will be granted access to existing training facilities.
They have also been informed that if no deal is reached on the MOU and they are uncontracted, they won’t be receive remuneration for the period until a new agreement is reached and it is from that point the terms of the new contracts come into effect.
Players with ongoing multi-year contracts will continue to be paid regardless of whether a new MOU is in place, even if they agree to the new contracts that were issued to all players earlier this month and which are dependent on the successful resolution of the MOU.
Howard has reportedly also advised that players will be sent a list of CA’s ‘protected’ sponsors for 2017-18 and any player who chooses to enter into unapproved endorsement deals while out of contract that might compromise their capacity to sign a new deal with CA, state teams and BBL/Women’s BBL franchises.
Howard’s correspondence also outlines arrangements for players’ insurance and ongoing medical costs should a deal not be reached by week’s end.
