Mitchell Starc has become the first player to take the provocative step of aligning with a rival to one of Cricket Australia's protected sponsors as the sport's industrial war rages on.
The towering quick, arguably the best fast bowler in the world, is one of Australian cricket's most marketable commodities and more than a week after 230 players fell out of contract he has been among those in hot demand.
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Now, it can be revealed that Starc has signed a sponsorship deal with an Audi dealership that may lead to consternation at CA, which has included fellow car company Toyota among its so-called protected sponsors for the 2017-18 season.
Players were cautioned by CA team performance boss Pat Howard just prior to becoming free agents on July 1 that they jeopardised a future contract with CA if they signed "unapproved endorsements" before a new memorandum of understanding between the governing body and the Australian Cricketers' Association was agreed.
Sources said Toyota had taken up an option for a new partnership with CA after its contract expired on June 30. It was unclear, however, whether that deal had been renewed after the paceman signed with Audi last week, in which case Starc could potentially argue it was a pre-existing sponsorship.
Arrangements with individual dealerships, with a car generally exchanged for promotion, are not unheard of but in ordinary circumstances when players are in contract they have to be agreed to by CA and technically should be unpublicised.
Whatever its merits the Starc deal will serve as a message to the governing body that Australia's top players are serious about their fight to retain a share of the game's revenue in their pay structure, a stance rammed home by Test captain Steve Smith on Sunday.
![Car deal: Mitchell Starc has signed a sponsorship deal with an Audi dealership.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170713220923im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/l/c/1/s/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx7ok0.png/1499773814619.jpg)
Starc, who has been in England watching wife Alyssa Healy play in the women's World Cup, posted a photo of the Audi dealership on social media on the weekend, saying: "Count down is on! Bring on delivery day".
Melinda Spencer, general manager of marketing at Autosports Group, confirmed the one-year partnership with the 27-year-old.
"He's working with us for Audi Centre Parramatta," she said. "There will be some appearances. We're thrilled to have him on board."
In an email to state high-performance managers that was forwarded on to players last month Howard warned against signing with rivals to CA sponsors.
"All players will be provided with a list of protected sponsors for 2017/18," Howard wrote. "Any player entering into unapproved endorsements during any uncontracted period puts at risk future endorsement arrangements with CA, State and W/BBL partners and puts you at risk of not being able to enter into a contract for the upcoming season with CA, the State or W/BBL Team."
While players have already abandoned the Australia A tour of South Africa and could well sit out next month's Test series in Bangladesh, the most damaging battleground of the crisis for CA immediately is around players' intellectual property rights as their commercial and broadcast partners become increasingly more anxious.
The ACA has asked CA commercial partners to remove players' images from their websites but also invited them to engage with the new business the union has established to form partnerships with players, The Cricketers' Brand.
Among those is the Commonwealth Bank, which currently has access to the IP of the women's national team because they are on interim CA contracts until the end of the World Cup. However, as it stands the bank would be unable to recognise and commemorate a potential winning Australian campaign and leverage the team's success. The only player in the squad the Commonwealth would have access to is Ellyse Perry, who is an ambassador for the bank.
The out-of-contract players have also been the subject of commercial interest from India, as revealed by Fairfax Media, and Tim Cruickshank, who is heading The Cricketers' Brand, plans to travel to the subcontinent in coming weeks.
While the MOU deadline of June 30 passed without a deal players stand to be officially left out of pocket on Saturday, when their next monthly pay is due.
The ultimate danger is that the Ashes could be affected. England have reportedly decided they will only tour if a new MOU is in place because of concerns their preparation for the Test series could be affected. Joe Root's squad is due to arrive here in late October.
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