In the lead-up to their forthcoming home series against Pakistan, cricket players from Ireland declined contract proposals issued by the sports coordinator. Last week, the male Irish players chose to reject the terms put forward by Cricket Ireland, while the female players, who recently concluded an unsuccessful T20 World Cup qualifying round, are yet to make a decision on the latest offer as they had prioritised their qualification attempt.
The domestic Irish summer season kicks off on Friday with a tri-match T20 series between Pakistan and Ireland’s men’s team in Clontarf. Soon afterwards, Ireland will set off for the USA to commence their T20 World Cup campaign.
Negotiations for wage increases among the Irish players started when it was revealed at the end of the last year that Cricket Ireland would benefit from a financial boost by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Negotiations on behalf of the players are conducted by the Irish Cricketers’ Association (ICA), their union.
It wasn’t until March that Cricket Ireland became privy to the precise amount of funding they would be receiving from the ICC, which was after the expiration of the previous year’s central contracts. Some matches, including a first-time Test triumph over Afghanistan, have been played since March 1st, despite no 2024 contracts being in place, adhering to the terms of the previous year that have indefinitely rolled over. The players agreed to maintain training and playing under the previous year’s salaries to ensure matches were preserved and access to injury benefits continued.
Although initially Cricket Ireland planned to prematurely access an additional $1.5 million in ICC funding, plans fell through. The financial costs of hosting matches overseas, an initiative Ireland will undertake when playing South Africa in the UAE in autumn, also escalated. Consequently, due to these unexpected fiscal circumstances, the 2024 budget had to be redesigned by Cricket Ireland.
Finalisation of this year’s budget was only conducted by the board last month, which consequently delayed both home summer fixtures’ announcements and contract dialogues with the players. Talks have persisted since then, with the most recent offer being turned down by the male players just last week. Until 2024 contracts are ratified, players will continue under the previous year’s terms, with any salary discrepancies being retroactively applied from March 1st when this year’s contracts were supposed to commence.
In the forthcoming three-game line-up against Pakistan, Ireland is all set to journey to the Netherlands to face off against them and Scotland in a tri-series. Their T20 World Cup odyssey kick starts against India on the 5th of June, right in New York. Apart from this, their American tour scenario also includes confrontations with Canada, the US, and Pakistan.
As for Irish women, their next course of action is set to unravel at home in August, where they will compete against Sri Lanka. There is also the prospect of hosting England in September. However, a tentative series with the Dutch is in jeopardy, as neither T20 World Cup qualification nor funding from the ICC has been settled.
While the negotiations were ongoing, Cricket Ireland decided to withhold any comments. Additionally, there was also a mum response from the ICA when they were approached for their thoughts on the matter.