Steve Smith has dismissed any suggestion that Australia may be put off their game in the must-win Champions Trophy fixture against England by the ongoing pay dispute with their employers.
Smith’s vice-captain David Warner has been vociferous on several occasions about the players’ steadfast refusal to back down on the details of a new memorandum of understanding for a payment model with Cricket Australia.
He even implied on Thursday that the governing body’s negotiating tactics with the Australian Cricketers’ Association may risk distracting their team, who have endured back-to-back no-results because of poor weather in this summer’s global tournament and therefore have to beat the hosts at Edgbaston on Saturday to sneak into the semi-finals.
The loyal and impressive @davidwarner31 standing strong for all domestic cricketers, male and female. #fairshare https://t.co/WbDCVZTzwB
— Shane Watson (@ShaneRWatson33) June 5, 2017
England are already through to the last four, and Smith knows his team cannot afford to be short of their best at a venue where they have a miserable record of no victory in 12 often rain-wrecked matches across the formats since 2001.
Asked about the potential distraction of the contract stand-off, he said: “We’re not worried about that at all.”
“We know the ACA is handling that back home.”
“For us, it’s about concentrating on this tournament – and tomorrow is a big game for everyone in this group.”
“I think the players have been really united through everything that’s going on with the MoU back home.”
CA’s fair deal for all players offers 58% increase in guaranteed player payments over the next 5 years. Up from $229m to $362m.
— Cricket Australia (@CAComms) June 2, 2017
The stakes are too high on the pitch for Smith to contemplate any loss of concentration.
He added: “The Champions Trophy only comes around every four years, and it’s the second biggest tournament after the World Cup, so we’ve got to be focused on that.”
“It’s a very cut-throat tournament with only three pool matches. So you’ve got to be switched on for each and every one of those, albeit we’re only going to be getting through one potentially.”
He is banking on his team raising their game when they most need to, as the World Cup holders so often have in the past.
