THE Australian Cricketers Association has declared they have all but given up on a deal being struck by Friday as they prepare players for the reality of being unemployed.

President Greg Dyer said players were “dismayed” that the bitter pay war has not been resolved and once again called on Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to involve himself immediately in negotiations.

NSW star Ed Cowan said all state players — uncontracted or otherwise — would turn up to training on Monday even if no deal has been agreed upon.

CA has also made it clear the doors will be open for them to do so.

However, beyond next week the horizon is unclear for cricket with Australia A’s tour of July in serious jeopardy.

Dyer said the game was in crisis.

“Over 200 of Australia’s most senior cricketers are unemployed as of the 1st of July,” said Dyer at an ACA golf day to raise money for players going through tough times.

“We will be assisting in whatever way we possibly can in that but they’re unemployed. We’ll be looking for opportunities for them as we move forward but we see the urgent need to resolve this matter because that’s the reality. The players are unemployed.”

“We will be jumping off the cliff together.

“It’s fair to say we (CA and ACA) still remain a long way apart. The fundamentals of the deal are nowhere near resolved.”

The ACA has said that CA’s revised offer last week is unacceptable, even though it seeks to include state players in a profit share arrangement.

CA has declared it will continue to pay multi-year state contracted players after July 1, however the players are concerned about what happens after July 14.

Until then players will train.

“As an act of good will and a commitment to the team and the cause of the season we’ll continue to train,” said Cowan.

On Monday Cowan predicted things would get worse before they got better, saying a tour to Bangladesh in August was at risk.

“(Negotiations are) not going anywhere. Nothing’s happening. No, plenty’s happening, sorry, but nothing’s happening to resolve the pay dispute,” he told Fox Sports.

“In the background, the two parties are still very far apart. The players are staying resolute that they want a revenue share model and are very flexible about how it comes to that, but Cricket Australia aren’t budging.

“30th of June there will be no deal — as far as I’m aware — so you can scrap that one.

“The next line in the sand is probably the tour of Bangladesh, do the players go on that late August?

“My gut feeling is probably hit and miss for security reasons (and) MoU reasons.”