Ireland’s cricketers have rejected a contract offer from the sport’s governing body ahead of the upcoming series at home against Pakistan.
Last week, Ireland’s men’s players chose to reject the terms offered by Cricket Ireland. The Ireland women’s team, who failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup on Sunday, have chosen to focus on qualifying and are yet to finalize their latest offer.
Ireland’s home summer begins on Friday with a three-match T20 series between Ireland Men and Pakistan in Clontarf. Ireland head to the United States to begin their T20 World Cup campaign early next month.
Late last year, after it was revealed that Cricket Ireland would receive an increase in funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC), Irish players began talking to their employers about pay rises. The players’ union, the Irish Cricketers’ Association (ICA), is negotiating on their behalf.
Cricket Ireland only learned the exact amount of funding from the ICC in March, after last year’s central contract expired. Ireland have played a number of matches since March 1, including their first Test win against Afghanistan, but with no contract in place for 2024, these matches have been carried forward indefinitely under the terms of last year’s contract. It was held by players who operate based on the following. The players agreed to continue training and playing on less than last year’s salaries in order to remain eligible and continue to enjoy benefits such as injury compensation.
Cricket Ireland had originally planned to receive an additional $1.5 million in funding from the ICC earlier than expected, but this did not materialize. The cost of hosting matches overseas has also increased when Ireland play South Africa in the UAE in the autumn. As a result of these unforeseen financial events, Cricket Ireland has been forced to restructure its budget for 2024.
The board did not approve this year’s budget plan until last month. This delayed both the announcement of the home summer schedule and contract negotiations with players.
Negotiations have continued since then, with the latest offer rejected by the men’s squad last week. The players will remain on last year’s terms until a contract for 2024 is agreed. The final agreed salary difference will be retroactive to March 1, when this year’s contract was supposed to begin.
After the upcoming three-game series against Pakistan, Ireland will head to the Netherlands for three-game series against the Netherlands and Scotland. Their T20 World Cup campaign begins on June 5 against India in New York. Ireland will also play against Canada, the United States and Pakistan during their stay in America.
The Ireland women’s national team will next play at home against Sri Lanka in August. They will also play England in September, but a provisional series against the Netherlands is unlikely to take place as they have not been able to secure participation fees from the ICC to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
Cricket Ireland declined to comment on the negotiations. The ICA has also been contacted for comment.
