Cricket Australia to announce lists of centrally contracted men's and women's players on Thursday as talks with the ACA continue
Labuschagne set to feature in new contract list
Cricket Australia will announce its new national contract lists for the men's and women's teams on Thursday, with Marnus Labuschagne set to secure his first national deal.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dictates that CA must provide a list of 2020-21 national contracts by April 30.
The coronavirus pandemic forced CA to earlier this month delay an announcement regarding the list of centrally-contracted players who will feature in this year's men's Twenty20 World Cup and next year's women's one-day World Cup.
The national selection panel is, however, preparing to unveil that stars made the cut on Thursday, delivering certainty to players but also to states that are keen to finalise their own contract lists.
Pat Cummins is expected to top the men's list yet again, while Marnus Labuschagne is set for a huge windfall after being initially overlooked in last year's 20-strong group.
Matthew Wade's revitalised Test career could see him win a return to the central list while the T20 World Cup focus could see Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson return.
Usman Khawaja and Peter Handscomb, who have lost their spots in the national team, could return to their state's payrolls, while veteran Shaun Marsh could also drop off the central list.
T20 World Cup surprise selection Annabel Sutherland and pace ace Tayla Vlaeminck are potential big winners on the women's side.
Players who miss out on the initial contract list can earn upgrades by playing matches throughout the year, as Labuschagne has done in the past 12 months.
With uncertainty still swirling about how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect next summer's professional fixtures, CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) have been in talks on how player payments will be affected.
David Warner, a vocal and outspoken figure for the players during the protracted 2017 negotiations over the MOU, said he was happy to "take a back seat" and let administrators come to terms.
"I echo what's been said by other players, that we'll ride the high and lows of the game," Warner told cricket.com.au this week.
"It was put into the MOU that we do take a cut in these down times, and when the game is hurting, we ride that.
"From my point of view it's about sitting back and letting those talks happen behind closed doors.
“We learned our lessons from last time, we don't want to be playing that out in the public, they don't want to see or hear that and we can't be going against each other like we did last time."
CA chief executive Kevin Roberts insisted a week ago that CA would respect the revenue-share model, in which players pocket 27.5 per cent of agreed streams, but there was a need for "creative solutions".
CA and the ACA, which has proposed a percentage-based retainer option, are still in talks regarding how to structure the complexity caused by numerous variables that will affect the employers' revenue in 2020-21.
CA has stood down a majority of its workforce until June 30 and has also been negotiating a reduction on the distributions to states, with an initial reduction of 25 per cent with contingencies based on how the summer progresses built in.
Leaders from each state and territory association are set to join Roberts and CA chief operating officer Scott Grant on a call on Thursday, having sought further financial detail regarding the implications of different scenarios in the most uncertain of summers.