Australia A players scheduled to fly out this week on tour of South Africa amid a bitter pay war are preparing as if the trip will go ahead, according to coach Jason Gillespie.
Unless there is a major breakthrough in talks, the tour appears likely to be called off as the first casualty in the dispute between Cricket Australia (CA) and the players' association.
The two parties failed to come to agreement on a pay model by the June 30 deadline, leaving some 230 Australian cricketers unemployed.
That includes the 19 squad members including Test cricketers Usman Khawaja, Glenn Maxwell and Jackson Bird, who were picked for the two four-day and five one-day matches from July 12 to August 8.
The players have nonetheless gathered in Brisbane for training at CA's National Cricket Centre ahead of a scheduled departure on Friday.
"I think their focus, and quite rightly, is on this week,' Gillespie told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.
"Let's focus on our cricket, our preparation on getting better as players and coaches. That is our attitude and we'll see what happens in coming days.
"We have to have the attitude as if we're going to be travelling.
"We just have to let both sides do what they do and hopefully they come to a resolution and we can move forward."
An at emergency meeting on Sunday, the Australian Cricketers Association, deadlocked with CA over revenue-sharing, effectively agreed to boycott the South Africa tour unless there is a significant breakthrough in negotiations this week.
CA have reportedly warned Cricket South Africa the tour may not go ahead, with the latter's chief executive Haroon Lorgat confirming they were already making contingency plans.
Despite the bitterness surrounding the feud, Gillespie praised players for travelling to Brisbane.
"In an ideal world, I think players would love to play cricket. Everyone wants to represent their country," he said.
"The players have shown their good faith in coming up here to train as if we're going on the tour.
"We just have to wait that out."
Australia A captain Khawaja said on Sunday players hoped for a resolution but were united on their opposition to CA.
"Not to go is a sacrifice in some respects, but we see the broader picture," he said.
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