Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has suggested a simple solution to end the cricket pay dispute.
Clarke's solution is to simply extend the previous Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a further 12 months while negotiations continue to allow players time to prepare for upcoming tournaments, including an Australia A tour to South Africa and Australia's assault to regain the Ashes.
Clarke, who captained 47 Tests for Australia, spoke yesterday at Channel 9's marketing launch for the Ashes.
Clarke said he believed there would eventually be a compromise, but he was concerned the impasse would affect preparations for future tournaments.
"The players want to play," he said.
He urged Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketer's Association (ACA) to settle their dispute in private, rather than let it continue in the public eye.
"It's s*** for the game," Clarke said.
Clarke said the the most important thing is to ensure no cricket is missed during negotiations.
Ironically, the major stumbling block to Clarke's solution is a condition which CA and the ACA both agree on.
The previous MoU did not include female players and both parties have committed to end this arrangement for the next agreement.
Clarke said rolling over the MoU was a common solution in his playing days but has not considered by either party in the current round of negotiations.
