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Australian Cricketers' Association boss Todd Greenberg says players felt as if Cricket Australia didn't have their backs in the Tim Paine saga.
Cricketers Association chief Todd Greenberg says players felt let down by Cricket Australia's handling of the Tim Paine saga.
Paine remains on an indefinite break from cricket following the leaking of his 2018 lewd messaging scandal, which prompted him to resign from his role as Australian captain just weeks out from the Ashes.
Greenberg was among the critics of CA's handling of the matter at the time, accusing them of looking at the issue through the "rear-view mirror".
His comments came after the current CA administration stated they would have axed Paine as captain if they had been in charge at the time of the integrity unit investigation, which cleared Paine of a code of conduct breach.
But Greenberg went one step further on Monday, making clear players had not been impressed.
"(From) the conversations I have had, they feel it could have been handled differently," Greenberg told SEN.
"They feel as if the governing body didn't have their back at that particular time.
"Again we are creating trust between the players and governing body, and that is a big part of it.
"But we took some steps backwards in that scenario."
Ex-NRL CEO Greenberg and Cricket Australia counterpart Nick Hockley have been on good terms since Greenberg's arrival in the ACA role last summer, and have worked closely together on COVID protocols.
But Greenberg said he had made his disappointment known.
"We made it very clear to CA we thought there was a different way it could have been handled," Greenberg said.
"But we're not always going to agree.
"Quite often it means we will have healthy disagreement.
"It's the way we conduct ourselves during those disagreements that I think will ultimately create a better partnership."
Meanwhile Greenberg revealed that he believed some players could still make themselves unavailable for the March tour of Pakistan if it goes ahead.
Both CA and the union have been largely positive on the possibility of the first Australian tour to Pakistan in 25 years going ahead, after both had representatives on a reconnaissance trip there.
Greenberg himself will join players there if it does go ahead as a show of faith, but said he understood if anyone didn't agree to go.
"There probably will be a few players who won't be comfortable despite the best advice we give," Greenberg said.
"(They might say): 'At this particular point in my life and career, I'm not comfortable going'.
"I think that's okay. We have to be really conscious, kind and patient with each other."