“I think as a network we’re extremely dissatisfied with Cricket Australia, with the administration.“
The two parties are expecting within a week to have a final call from independent arbitrator Justin Jameson on whether Seven deserves to be offered a major reduction, after the network lodged papers last year arguing the quality of action this summer, in terms of overall scheduling and on-field play, was not what it had signed up for. CA had already offered a 20 per cent discount – a bid rejected by Seven.
CA and Seven are also due to extend their fight through the Federal Court from March 15, where a pre-discovery hearing before Justice Paul Anastassiou will determine whether Seven is granted access to documents and correspondence CA had with state governments, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and with cricket’s pay-television arm, Foxtel.
Seven argues the BCCI pressured CA into having the original schedule changed, meaning the international summer began with white-ball matches exclusive to Foxtel rather than the Test series, which Seven shares with Foxtel.
Under court rulings, CA had to file and reserve any evidence on which it intends to use by last Friday, which it did, but Warburton confirmed he had seen CA’s case.
