Melbourne: After Cricket Australia (CA) decided to stand down the majority of its staff, Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood said the players will ride through the tough times if the board will be transparent to them.
The CA on Thursday announced that they will stand down the majority of its staff on 20 per cent pay until the end of the financial year on June 30 due to the adverse effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the sport.
Cricket Australia need to 'show a lot of transparency': Josh Hazlewood "We're obviously partners in the game and we've always said that. We've ridden the highs, now is the time to ride the lows a little bit. We'll see where it comes to and obviously play our part. As long as they show a lot of transparency on all the numbers, all the players will be pretty happy with that.
So as long as there's good communication between the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) and CA shown there to see exactly where we're situated at the moment and moving forward," a cricket website quoted Hazlewood as saying.
The 29-year-old pacer was surprised by the CA's decision. The deadline for player central contracts had already been pushed back to April 30 and that remains the time frame being worked to.
"It probably took me a little bit by surprise. Just due to the fact this pandemic has probably happened at a perfect time for Cricket Australia compared to the footy codes that are really in some trouble heading into their seasons. But there's going to be some impacts no doubt. We're no different to any other sport. If it leads into next summer it could be quite serious, so we're playing it by ear at the moment and we'll see where we end up," Hazlewood said.
Right now, no sport is being played as all top tournaments like IPL, Premier League, LA Liga have been suspended and there is no certain answer as to when the coronavirus crisis will subside.
