The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) will not agree to Cricket Australia's current BBL privatisation model saying they "are not aligned with the current direction of the process" or the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which includes the payment structure.
ACA chief executive Paul Marsh sent an email to Australian players on Sunday evening, just a day out from CA's meeting with the state chairs on Monday where a vote was due to be held on whether to proceed to the next phase of the BBL privatisation model, where states were set to be able to choose their own path as to whether they pursue private investment or not.
In the email, seen by ESPNcricinfo, Marsh outlined the ACA's current position following ACA board and player delegates meetings last week and Marsh's meetings with CA and state chief executives.
"Australian cricket is not currently united on the right path to privatisation," Marsh wrote. "In particular, the recent upheaval around Cricket Victoria's proposed sale of the [Melbourne] Renegades and merger with the [Melbourne] Stars reinforces our view that the game is not yet aligned on an approach that will deliver the appropriate value in the privatisation process.
"ACA continues to believe privatisation can work. However, CA's current MOU proposal to us does not improve on the existing player revenue share arrangement, does not provide for salary increases for all player cohorts, and fails to address the broader priorities players presented to CA. Until CA's offer improves we cannot consider accepting what is in front of us.
"We are not aligned with the current direction of the process or the proposed MOU. We do not believe it will deliver the best outcome for the game or players.
"With privatisation unable to proceed without ACA agreement, our plan from here is to continue working with CA and the States to address the above issues so we can work towards a deal that is good for both players and the game. It is likely this will take some time and we ask players to be patient as we do this. Given that any sale of these teams is forever, we need to get this right, now."
Marsh went on to add that the ACA is continuing discussions with CA about potential changes to the W/BBL payment structures for the coming season. The best Australian BBL players have been very unhappy about the fact that overseas players have been earning more than AU$100-200,000 more than they have per season under the current structure.
Player pay has been at the heart of the privatisation debate with CA's chief executive Todd Greenberg, the former ACA CEO before Marsh, stating that growing player salaries to compete on a global scale is a key reason as to why CA is pursuing the new structure.
The ACA will also meet with Stars and Renegades players this week to discuss issues that arose from Cricket Victoria's proposal.