Cricket Australia has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, but the board has come up with an innovative way to ensure financial stability for its employees. CA approached one of its sponsors Woolworths, a supermarket giant, to provide temporary jobs to its staff that has been laid off till the end of June. 

Since they haven’t lost a major revenue stream from cancelled matches, Cricket Australia are not eligible for the country’s JobKeeper support program. 

CA chief executive Kevin Roberts told SEN Radio that the revenue from ticket sales for international matches alone could have been around 40 to 50 million Australian dollars. To make up for the lost opportunity, CA is also considering turning its four-match Test series against India later this year into a five-game one. 

Roberts said that the board is working proactively to make up for the financial crunch that is being caused by the lockdown. CA is also trying to ensure that the staff is financially stable during this period. 

Most of the staff has been laid off till June, and the skeletal staff is working on 20% of their regular salary. 

Roberts defended the decision saying that it had simply been a matter of judging how much work was able to be done while placing the business on hold and paying employees accordingly.

All sporting activity across the globe has come to a screeching halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. While the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to 2021, major sporting leagues like Indian Premier League and football leagues across Europe have been suspended indefinitely.