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Cricket Australia and state-association owners could soon be rowing in the same direction, while CA's 2020-21 national contract list will soon be unveiled.
Cricket Australia is set to announce its national contract list on Thursday, when an in-principle agreement regarding state funding cuts could also be hammered out.
CA chief executive Kevin Roberts has been under siege since April 16, when he told shellshocked staff the vast majority of them would be stood down for the rest of the financial year.
The governing body has been in delicate negotiations with its state-association owners and players, arguing haircuts are needed because COVID-19 has cast immense doubt on several elements of the coming season.
Disgruntled states pushed back on Roberts' initial suggestion of a 45 per-cent cut to distributions, but this week could accept a 25 per-cent trim.
Bigwigs from each state and territory association are set to join Roberts and CA chief operating officer Scott Grant on a call on Thursday, having sought further financial detail regarding the implications of different scenarios in the most uncertain of summers.
Belt-tightening talks between board members from CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) also progressed on Tuesday, building further hope there will not be a repeat of the ugly 2017 pay stoush.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dictates that CA must provide a list of 2020-21 national contracts by April 30.
Earlier this month, CA delayed an announcement regarding the list of centrally-contracted players who will feature in this year's men's Twenty20 World Cup and next year's women's one-day World Cup.
The national selection panel is however preparing to unveil which stars made the cut on Thursday, delivering certainty to players but also states that are keen to finalise their own contract lists.
Pat Cummins is expected to top the men's list yet again, while Marnus Labuschagne is set for a huge pay rise after being initially overlooked in last year's 20-strong group.
The rankings system governing player salaries, in which the best of the best take home a bigger slice of the pie, will still be used.
But, as opposed to the past two years, there will be a percentage figure next to each player's name rather than a set dollar amount.
CA, which hopes to offer more informed revenue projections closer to the end of this financial year, has previously used a percentage system in years when the MoU was due to lapse and still being negotiated.
Roberts insisted a week ago that CA would respect the revenue-share model, in which players pocket 27.5 per cent of agreed streams, but there was a need for "creative solutions".
CA and the ACA, which has proposed a percentage-based retainer option, are still in talks regarding how to structure the complexity caused by numerous variables that will affect the employers' revenue in 2020-21.
