AUSTRALIA's elite cricketers want to plough $1 million back into the sport in an attempt to stop promising talent from being lost to football.
Cricket Australia's top 25 contracted players are increasingly concerned multi-skilled juniors are opting for the oval ball.
A recent survey by the Australian Cricketers Association found 48 per cent of players were worried about the level of talent emerging through the state system, with 67 per cent believing other sports offered better "packages".
This will again be evident in tomorrow's AFL national draft when Victorian Marc Murphy, almost certain to be the No.1 pick, and South Australian Shannon Hurn, expected to be a top-five pick, will turn their backs on cricket.
Hurn, 18, had a rookie contract with the South Australian Cricket Association last summer, while Murphy, 17, had already broken into first XI Premier Cricket at Melbourne University.
The likes of Brett Deledio, the No.1 pick in last year's draft, St Kilda's Luke Ball and Brisbane Lions enforcer Jonathan Brown have also been lost to cricket, with Brown admitting opportunity and money were crucial ingredients in his decision.
Chief executive Paul Marsh said he would soon present a paper to CA examining the issue.
One suggestion from CA contracted players is to set aside $1million over four years from their player payment pool to put into game development.
"The players want to give back to Cricket Australia and the states for game development purposes," Marsh said. "It's an issue we are well aware of, Cricket Australia is well aware of."
The AFL offers more opportunities and a better package than cricket, with contracts starting from a base of $39,300 for draftees plus match payments of $2200 which rise quickly.
This compares with cricket's state rookie contracts, beginning from about $25,000.
Promising cricketers have been offered rookie state contracts in a bid to keep them in the game but often to little avail.
Marsh said it was up to cricket to improve its structure, suggesting it needed to work harder to retain 16 and 17-year-olds.
That's the age when the opportunities football offers really starts to kick in.
"We will be putting a paper to Cricket Australia shortly on how we think we can impact here," Marsh said.
"We have got a number of different opportunities to do that."
Herald Sun
