Aus players may strike over payment

Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) is facing a serious backlash from professional cricketers over contractual negotiations a month before Australia's ODI series in England. According to Fox Sports, Australian cricketers are considering going on strike due to concerns over how much they will be paid and in which state they will be training in a month from now.

The players and CA management are locked in a stand-off surrounding the first player negotiations during Mark Taylor's captaincy, it has been reported. CA has frozen all state and Big Bash League contracts pending a new agreement, and Australian Cricketers Association head Paul Marsh said the possibility of an industrial stand-off was a reality should CA fail to present a contract before Jul 1. "There's only 29 days of negotiations left to run, so of course we are preparing for the eventuality of not having a deal in place before the end of July. We are looking at all of our different options," he said.

State players will also be locked out if the deadline is not met. In 2011, a stand-off lead to the previous deal being pushed back for 12 months.

The players are reportedly ready to boycott next month\'s ODI tour of England.

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