Star Aussie batsman David Warner has lashed out at Cricket Australia as cricket’s pay crisis worsens.

David Warner hits back

Warner has copped criticism during the saga with some labelling him and the other big name Aussie players as greedy. Given their fat pay packets and fast cars.

But I feel this criticism is unfair as the likes of Warner and Smith would actually do very well out of CA’s proposed new deal. The fact that they are digging in and not rolling over suggests to me that they are indeed going ‘in to bat’ for their lesser paid colleagues.

The Aussie team like Warner have always maintained that they are standing firm on behalf of the cricketers playing at a lower level. Who could be worse off under Cricket Australia’s revised payment plans.

Warner vented his frustration yesterday with a post on his Instagram.

“This Baggy means the world to me. Myself and all the other cricketers female and male want to get out there and play.”

“We offered $30m of our money to grassroots as a peace plan. It was ignored. We asked for mediation twice before and it was rejected.”

“Now CA says there is a crisis. The players are unemployed and some are hurting financially but continue to train. Administrators all still being paid.”

“How is it our fault no deal is done.”

Cricket Australia getting desperate

The post came in response to Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland’s media conference yesterday. Sutherland suggested the arbitration could be the only solution to the situation. He clearly appeared to be frustrated by the whole situation.

“We seem to be bogged down at times in process and bogged down in strategies that are perhaps designed to slow things down,” the CA boss said.

“I have had increasing concerns just about whether everyone is going at the same pace and is dealing with this issue with the same level of urgency.

“We are proposing a mechanism by which we can put a hard time line on it, have the matter decided by someone independent and for both parties to accept the umpire’s decision.”

by Michael T. Lynch – contributor