Pay row won't distract Australia: Stoinis

Allrounder Marcus Stoinis says the players' ongoing pay dispute with Cricket Australia won't be a distraction during the Champions Trophy.

Marcus Stoinis insists the ongoing pay dispute between the Australia players and Cricket Australia (CA) won't be a distraction during the ICC Champions Trophy.

The bulk of the Australia squad arrived in London on Friday for the tournament, which starts on June 1, with skipper Steve Smith and Adam Zampa due to arrive on Monday after playing for Rising Pune Supergiant in the IPL final.

CA have given the Australia Cricket Association (ACA) a deadline of June 30 for players to sign a new Memo of Understanding and vowed to stop paying them unless an agreement is rubber stamped.

The dispute centres around CA's desire to remove the current revenue-sharing agreement with all male and female state players.

Last week David Warner raised the prospect of players heading overseas to take up lucrative Twenty20 contracts if their wages are stopped and of an Ashes series taking place on home soil without Australia's biggest names.

The extent of the feeling from players has been demonstrated on social media with the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and former Test stars Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson expressing support for the ACA's stance.

Stoinis believes strike action is unlikely to happen and the team are now only focusing on winning a first Champions Trophy since 2009.

"It's not really been talked about, it is what it is," Stoinis said.

"This kind of stuff happens when the MOU is up and we've got the ACA looking at that on our behalf.

"Hopefully it doesn't get to that stage (where we go on strike) nobody wants to see that happen.

"I don't think it will happen ... but we'll see. We're here to play cricket and try and win this tournament."

Stoinis has recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained during his IPL stint and looking to carry on from where he left off in January when he clubbed an unbeaten 146 and took 3-49, albeit in a losing cause, against New Zealand in Auckland.

The Victoria batsman averages 96 in ODIs from his three innings, and admitted he feared the worst when he damaged his shoulder during a fielding drill with the Kings XI Punjab last month.

"Initially they said I would be four to six weeks in a sling but that changed pretty quickly when I got home," he said.

"But it's all been good news since then. The doctors and medical team are happy. That's half the thing with an injury, your mind goes to what you might miss out on.

"I am really looking forward to this opportunity again. You don't get many with the Australia team and hopefully I can keep my place and contribute."


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world