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Katich calls for probe of Big Bash finances

Players' union wants investigation into $33m BBL deficit as governing body claims information was shared last year

Former Test batsman and Australian Cricketers' Association Player Liaison Manager Simon Katich has called for an urgent, independent investigation of the Big Bash League finances after Cricket Australia confirmed the hugely successful T20 competition lost money in its first five years of operation.

Katich claimed CA's reference to the $33 million BBL shortfall, which was contained in an infographic on the ongoing dispute over the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding that was sent to contracted players yesterday, "defied logic and good business sense".

Image Id: 7E36E1CC7922471397272D7078BCD712 Image Caption: CA's infographic on player pay

"This is either an MOU negotiating tactic or a serious case of mismanagement," said Katich, who played 56 Tests and 45 one-day internationals for Australia between 2001 and 2010.

"Either way, the public and the players need answers.

"The claims that CA has managed to lose money on the biggest success story in world cricket must be independently investigated."

A CA spokesman said today that the ACA had been made aware of the $33 million loss figure last year when CA presented the players' union with their MOU proposal, but had not raised it as a concern until information reiterating details of that proposal were shared directly with players yesterday.



And while Katich claimed the news underscored the need to retain a revenue-sharing model in the next MOU because it "shares the risk" of fluctuating returns between the administrative body and players, CA argued that it also highlighted the shortcomings of a model that distributes remuneration based on revenue rather than surpluses.

"The ACA were given this information six months ago, as part of Cricket Australia's initial MOU submission," the spokesman said.

"They have not raised this issue once in that time, and it suggests they still do not understand that it takes 71 per cent of cricket's total investment to run elite cricket (including the BBL and Women's BBL).

"It also demonstrates why the current fixed-percentage model is hurting cricket, when the players are guaranteed a quarter of revenue regardless of the costs associated with putting on the game.

"The BBL, and now the WBBL, are an investment in growing the game.

"In particular, ticket prices have been kept low because the primary purpose is to attract more fans and families – and it has been hugely successful at that.''

CA Executive GM Kevin Roberts details the governing body's pay offer

Katich also questioned whether excessive CA expenditure on "bureaucracy, executive salaries, entitlements and bonuses" came at the expense of payments to players and investment in grassroots cricket, and he called for a cap to be applied on all CA administrative costs.

"The recurring question that keeps arising is, where does all the money go?" said Katich, who in 2016 joined fellow former Test players Ian Healy, Darren Lehmann, Tim May, Matthew Hayden and Greg Matthews as recipients of the Kerry Packer Award for outstanding service to the ACA.

"One thing is for sure, it's not drained by either the players or grassroots investments, which together account for less than 30 cents in the dollar."

In the MOU proposal provided to the ACA and all contracted players, CA detailed that 71 per cent of revenue is spent on elite cricket, which includes men's and women's international matches, domestic first-class and limited-overs competitions and pathways programs.

"It is sometimes claimed players receive around 25 per cent of revenue and CA receives the remaining 75%," the CA proposal sent to the ACA last March says.

"Recent data shared with the ACA shows that 71 per cent of all funds allocated across Australian cricket are directed to staging, promoting and developing elite cricket.

"This includes player payments and the cost of managing pathway competitions.

"The remaining 29 per cent is comprised of 12 per cent in grassroots funding and 17 per cent in other costs of running the game."

Under the terms of the existing five-year MOU, the ACA receives regular access to audits of CA's finances.

And CA Chief Executive James Sutherland wrote to his ACA counterpart Alistair Nicholson almost three months ago to advise "CA is ready to share the financial information behind its proposal when the ACA engages in MOU negotiations".

Sutherland addresses Big Bash finance in March press conference

After the second season of BBL in 2012-13, CA's then Executive General Manager Operations, Mike McKenna, revealed that CA had lost $10 million on the enterprise and publicly confirmed after the following summer that the franchise-based competition was still not returning a profit.

"But that's a deliberate growth strategy," said McKenna, who left CA last year to take up the role of Chief Executive at the new Perth Stadium.

"The Big Bash League is about bringing new audiences to the game and about reinvesting money to grassroots cricket. It's not about making money."

Last year, McKenna also opposed calls from ACA President Greg Dyer for the eight BBL franchises to be opened up to private ownership when Dyer claimed that "in light of this very, very successful Big Bash League summer series (of 2015-16), the value to an external investor is as high as it's ever likely to be".

In opposing that push, McKenna said: "You can imagine having privatised teams and those owners, whether they have 49 per cent or more, want to take profit from that.

"That is money that could otherwise be going back into cricket."

Nicholson, who is currently in England where Australia's men's ODI team is preparing for their opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament against New Zealand on Friday, today claimed that by releasing the infographic and an accompanying explanatory video CA continued to "relentlessly argue its already twice rejected case".

"This is simply rehashing their offer from March in a different format," Nicholson said.

"Same numbers, same lack of transparency and same philosophies that the players have categorically rejected.

"Surely there is a point at which the penny has to drop and CA stop haranguing the players and come to the table to mediate."

CA has twice rejected the ACA's calls for the appointment of an independent mediator to try and break the current impasse before the current MOU expires on June 30, claiming that it would be "extraordinary" for a mediator to be engaged before any formal negotiations between the two parties have begun.

Sutherland, who is due to travel to the UK next month for ICC meetings, said CA could "no longer sit on our hands and stick to the philosophy that negotiation should happen behind closed doors" and had therefore recently moved to publicly explain details of their MOU proposal.

"There are facts that need to be put forward and the public needs to better understand our side of things when they're being represented in an alternative way," Sutherland told Guardian Australia this week.

"I understand that this is change and that this is different.

"Change is difficult. People are used to the (revenue sharing) model and feel like they're losing ground.

"But it's important to note that we have a player payment pool in this current year of $79 million and our proposal for next year is for a player payment pool of $91 million.

"That's a 15 per cent increase. There aren't many people in Australia getting an increase like that, or have an offer like that on the table."