The acrimony between cricketers and administrators took a new twist with the release of the contract rankings list.
The rankings, which are due to be released on Friday but have been leaked to The Australian, suggest that potential outrates performance and that selectors are happy to put large wagers on outside chances.
At the same time, the young Steve Smith is the big winner, flying up the charts into the top 10 despite the fact he is yet to establish himself as a Test player.
The all-rounder has an average of 28.7 from five Tests and three wickets at 73, but has scored two half-centuries. His availability for all forms also helps his rankings.
Players have railed against the inconsistencies of the rankings and the uncertainties they face when dealing with selectors.
Cricket Australia contracts 25 players a year, giving them a Test, ODI and T20 ranking with the forms weighted according to their relative importance. Test performance earn more points (1.25) toward the final shortlist than ODIs (.8) and T20s (.2) which were included for the first time.
A player's pay is worked out by his position on the table. As expected, Shane Watson lands a bigger basic wage than Australia captain Michael Clarke, but both will be earning in the vicinity of $2 million.
The elevation of another player over the captain is not unprecedented, with Glenn McGrath often outranking his skippers and can be explained partly by the fact Watson plays all three versions of the game.
Ricky Ponting has dropped from first to fourth after relinquishing the captaincy, but the presence of him and Mike Hussey (sixth) - the two 36-year-olds - sparks even further questions about the controversial decision to axe Simon Katich, 35.
The opener has a better record over the past three seasons than his more senior teammates, but apparently the selectors looked into the crystal ball and decided he had no future in Test cricket.
Katich was averaging 50 as an opener.
Selectors are threatening a youth-at-all-costs policy with Greg Chappell telling coaches and administrators last year that in an ideal world all debutants would be under 21. Such an world would exclude players such as Darren Lehmann, Hussey and even Usman Khawaja, 24, from cracking the Test team.
Perhaps the most extraordinary revelation is that Bollinger ranks below injured teenager Pat Cummins and James Pattinson. Nobody is doubting the 18-year-old Cummins' potential, but he has played three first-class matches, taking nine wickets at 46. Pattinson has played six first-class matches and taken 19 wickets at 29.4.
Bollinger was one of two Australians - the other was Katich - to make the ICC 2010 Test Team of the year. The paceman also made the one-day side and was impressive in the ODIs at the end of the summer after a poor Test outing.
Bollinger has had his cards marked over a performance in Adelaide where he played unfit and struggled in the heat.
He was injured in the preceding Indian Test series because Cricket Australia insisted he play for an Indian franchise in the Champions League and that left him no time to prepare for the five-day game which saw him tear a muscle.
Bollinger then followed a path given to him by the coaches to ensure he would be in best condition, but was rushed back in on a flat Adelaide deck after Mitchell Johnson stepped down to address technical issues.
