Lawyer goes in to bat for cricket pay
ALG senior associate Cecelia Joyce, who is Irish Cricketers' Association president and a former Ireland international, has said she wants to see proper remuneration for women cricketers.
Cecelia Joyce played 100 times for Ireland for little financial reward.
Her brothers, including international Ed Joyce, who played for both the Ireland and England national cricket teams, meanwhile earned a living from cricket.
Cecelia Joyce is president of the players’ association and, in that role, represents all male and female international players – including in negotiations with Cricket Ireland on contract structures.
“I am also on the board of the World Cricketers’ Association, which represents players from 17 countries – including the majority of the top cricket nations,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a crusade for women to be valued properly,” she said.
‘Leverage equals action’ is the tagline of the ALG commercial disputes lawyer, who spent almost two decades opening the batting for Ireland’s women’s team.
Joyce led campaigns on expenses and mileage for players, as well as payment in lieu, to continue to pay rent or mortgage.
That led to women players getting part-time contracts, and eventually, full-time contracts.
Better conditions
“I ask my players to think of their team-mates in the same shirt, and to think of themselves in a few years’ time and to fight for better conditions not only for themselves now, but for their past and future selves,” she said in a recent interview with CricExec, cricket’s only trade publication.
It is often the lower-paid players who sacrifice the most in proportional terms, she adds.
Joyce also spoke about how the franchise era complicates player remuneration, as more players choose lucrative club contracts over international cricket, leading to a ‘team of one’.
“We’re going to have to get players to think of themselves as global citizens – to feel affiliated to the world players’ movement,” she told the publication.
Joyce also notes that, as European countries become more involved in a sport, the better the regulation tends to be.
The establishment of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Dublin, and the rise of European cricketing nations – Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy – could shake things up, she believes.
Player movement
“It’ll be very interesting to see how that has an impact on the player movement and the sport overall,” she told CricExec.
“An international governing body or not, the Court of Justice of the European Union requires entities engaged in commercial arrangements to comply with the principles of free movement and competition law. I see some real opportunity there.”
The number of cricket players in Ireland is growing fast, with total participation now over 50,000.
The greater Dublin area has the most players, with about 60% from South Asia.