Wedge politics was how one observer described Cricket Australia's pay offer to its players in a bid to end an ongoing dispute, and it's hard to argue against that.
The sport's governing body has made a bold appeal to its elite talent, through more than doubling the pay of international female players and delivering a 30 per cent rise to international men, with room for bonuses, as a trade-off for what shapes as removing domestic male players from the set-percentage model embraced since 1997.
While CA chief James Sutherland admits there is work to be done on the details, under chief negotiator Kevin Roberts CA has made a cunning move - and it's now up to the Australian Cricketers Association to truly show how hard it is prepared to fight to retain the status quo.
Is industrial action a real option? CA says the current model is outdated and domestic players - primarily those in the Sheffield Shield and Matador Cup but excluding the Big Bash League - don't deliver any financial benefits. CA argues those players have enjoyed a healthy rise of 53 per cent over the past five years and will still get an 18 per cent increase over the next five years in what shapes to be from a guaranteed pool. The average retainers will jump from $199,000 to $235,000 by 2022. On paper, that's not too bad, for that equates to a 3.6 per cent rise annually. It should be pointed out average weekly earnings for workers rose 2.2 per cent last year, the slowest pace since World War II.
Where CA wants domestic players to enjoy greater pay is through the burgeoning BBL, which is still loss-making but that's expected to change when a new broadcast rights deal is brokered and the salary cap rises.
Players argue shield cricket is the cornerstone of the sport, providing the next generation of Test stars, and those players overlooked for BBL contracts will be impacted.
That the shield fixture already feels like an add-on highlights where priorities now sit, but the bottom line is shield cricket doesn't pay the bills. CA insists it's international cricket that does, and that's set to be reinforced in new local and international broadcast deals, with the Indian market firmly on the agenda.
The ongoing tight and tense Test series against India, complete with on and off-field drama, could not have come at a better time with CA preparing to sell its television rights on the subcontinent. A better-than-expected deal could also reap players bonus payments under the proposed new pay deal. By initially appealing to the male kingpins with a 30 per cent pay increase, ensuring the expected average income, including BBL payments, will be $1.45 million by 2022, CA is testing the players' resolve. Do stars such as Steve Smith and David Warner, already earning about $2 million a year, want to fight for their shield brethren, as short-form master blaster Aaron Finch said they would on Tuesday?
Is there a chance CA could pull its offer if the players take major action? That's where CA may have inflicted its first wedge. The feel-good aspect of what Sutherland hailed as a "landmark" submission was that the average wage of a top female player would immediately jump from $80,000 to $179,000, including Women's Big Bash League payments. By 2021, the average wage of an international female cricketer would be $210,000.
The average retainer for a state female player, featuring in the Women's National Cricket League and the WBBL, will go from $22,000 to $52,000. On face value, the money set to be poured into women's cricket is going to be a difficult proposition for the rank and file to resist - another CA wedge.
That Sutherland says cricket will "offer for the first time a genuine opportunity for our women cricketers to pursue a full-time career in our sport" is also hard to argue against, coming at a time when the AFL Women's competition is seeking the best young athletes and netball also has a new league.
CA has clearly delivered a strong first-innings score. It's now over to the players to rebound in a manner they see fit, beginning with a scheduled meeting between the parties on Thursday.
