Australian cricket player salaries: Are they worth it?
Ashes cricket team burn down the bank.
Ever thought sport stars are overpaid? You look at the salaries of those in the Premier League, the NBA or NFL and inevitably think to yourself, "Jeez, that's a bit rich." Before you throw stones across international waters, you might want to consider that some of those valiant men we've sent Across The Pond for the Ashes this year have been earning upwards of $1,000 per run. That's a lot of Pimm's Cup.
Which Australian cricket team members are worth it?
To mark the beginning of the fourth Ashes Test in the 2016 series, and Australia’s final chance to hang on in the series, we decided to calculate who is Australia’s best value player. We've assumed a match fee of $14,000 per game for these calculations.
Chris Rogers is Australia’s best value batsman, costing $109 per run and clocking up the most runs for Australia so far – a total of 385. Steve Smith was a close second at $119 for each of his 354 runs.
The most expensive batsman was all-rounder Mitchell Marsh who cost a huge $622 per run after being bowled out for a duck and 6 in his last two innings during the third test.
When it comes to bowlers, Josh Hazelwood is the best value player on the pitch, earning himself $3,000 per wicket (14 wickets so far).
Mitchell Johnson is the most expensive player, costing an average of $4,200 per wicket (10 this series).
If the Aussies can turn it around in this test and then the series, there will be more wickets, runs and possibly bonuses to consider. finder.com.au will reveal who is the best value player over the whole series.
| Australian player | Role | Tests played | Total match fee | Runs | Wickets | Fee per run | Fee per wicket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Rogers | Batsman | 3 | $42,000 | 385 | $109 | ||
| Steve Smith | Batsman | 3 | $42,000 | 354 | $119 | ||
| David Warner | Batsman | 3 | $42,000 | 269 | $156 | ||
| Michael Clarke | Batsman | 3 | $42,000 | 94 | $447 | ||
| Adam Voges | Batsman | 3 | $42,000 | 73 | $575 | ||
| Mitchell Marsh | All-rounder | 2 | $28,000 | 45 | 3 | $622 | $9,333 |
| Peter Nevill | Wicket keeper | 2 | $28,000 | 76 | $368 | ||
| Mitchell Johnson | Bowler | 3 | $42,000 | 108 | 10 | $389 | $4,200 |
| Mitchell Starc | Bowler | 3 | $42,000 | 98 | 12 | $429 | $3,500 |
| Josh Hazlewood | Bowler | 3 | $42,000 | 41 | 14 | $1,024 | $3,000 |
| Nathan Lyon | Bowler | 3 | $42,000 | 29 | 12 | $1,448 | $3,500 |
| Brad Haddin | Batsman/WK | 1 | $14,000 | 29 | $483 | ||
| Shane Watson | All-rounder | 1 | $14,000 | 49 | $286 |
Source: finder.com.au analysis, based on a $14,000 match fee, ESPN scores
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