KEY POINTS:
Ker-ching.
The Blacks Caps' victory over the West Indies on Friday not only all-but guaranteed them a spot in the World Cup semi-finals, it also guarantees the players a hefty pay day.
If they can go where no other New Zealand cricket team has gone before and win the cup, they will be laughing all the way to the bank - with a cheque for close to $210,000 each in their hands.
The winning team will receive a cheque for US$2.24 million, which at today's exchange rate adds up to $3.14m, to be divided among the 15-man squad.
New Zealand Cricket administration manager Tim Murdoch said none of the prize money would be diverted to the national body, all of it ending up in the pockets of the players.
"The only rule is that it is split between the players in the teams," New Zealand Cricket Players' Association manager Heath Mills said. "That was negotiated by FICA [Federation of International Cricketers' Associations] into the players' terms."
Mills said the money would be split evenly between the players, so somebody like Mark Gillespie, who has yet to play a game for New Zealand at the tournament, will receive as much as captain Stephen Fleming.
Players like Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey, who were invalided out of the tournament, will probably split their winnings on a pro rata basis with their replacements, Hamish Marshall and Chris Martin.
Just reaching the semifinals is a lucrative business for the Black Caps, whose annual retainers range between $45,000 and $125,000 a year, plus match fees of $2500 for a one-day international and $6000 for a test.
The losing finalist receives $1.4m, more than $90,000 for each player. The losing semifinalists each receive $630,000 - more than $40,000 each.
When you add the fact the Black Caps' have already earned $42,000 for their three wins in the group stages, it should be a very lucrative six weeks.
Ewen Chatfield, who was this week playing for Wellington Masters in a tournament on the North Shore, played in the 1979, 1983 and 1987 World Cups and said he couldn't recall what they were paid, "but it certainly wasn't that much".
"In our day I think all the prize money we earned went straight to New Zealand Cricket, and they decided how it would be spent."
Chatfield, who now has a lawnmowing franchise in the Hutt Valley, has no regrets about playing in that era. "Everybody played in the wrong era, didn't they? It's just what happens.
"As time goes on, conditions and money and things like that improve, but I wouldn't swap my time for anything."
The cricketers' situation also compares favourably to that of their rugby counterparts.
The Rugby World Cup operates on a flat participation fee which goes straight to the national bodies, but the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association has negotiated a bonus with the New Zealand Rugby Union of $35,000 a player for the All Blacks winning a semifinal, should they make it that far, plus another $65,000 if they win the tournament, giving them a total of $100,000.
"FICA have negotiated this level of prize money because the ICC [International Cricket Council] will make an enormous amount of money off this tournament," Mills said.
The International Rugby Board will also make a mint off their World Cup later in the year but are so far not feeling as generous towards the stars of their show.
