The ongoing stand-off between the Australian Cricketers Association and CA shows little, if no, sign of abating, at a time when fast bowler Josh Hazlewood says players will remain focused on winning the Champions Trophy in England.

Australia will begin their warm-up matches this week, with Nicholson jetting in to provide an update on a new memorandum of understanding which looks unlikely to be brokered by the June 30 deadline.

At that point, the players are likely to be in the rare position of being locked out by CA, or "unemployed" as the ACA said on Tuesday. CA could offer the Australia A players set to head to South Africa on July 8 a tour contract, but that would defeat the purpose of a lock-out, even though there are first-class cricketers on multi-year deals.

Nicholson, seething at recent threats by CA chief James Sutherland that players would be "locked out" come July 1, also endorsed comments by leading player agent Neil Maxwell, who is also on the ACA board, that overseas leagues would be keen to sign up Australian players in July should a deal not be reached.

"To threaten Australia's cricketers shows an apparent lack of appreciation of international circumstances," Nicholson said.

"Times have changed. The commercial reality of the international cricket world is that our cricketers are in high demand for more money all over the world.

"CA forcing them into unemployment is an open invitation to the international cricket world. It's a dangerous mistake and one that is completely unnecessary. And it compounds the existing error of dismantling revenue sharing which is the best defence against international forces.

"Australian cricketers, men and women both, want to play in Australia, for Australia and for their states and T20 teams. When you threaten them with unemployment, you place them squarely in the sights of the new cricket world."

Maxwell has even suggested players could establish their own league.

CA's offer to the top players is lucrative, for they would have the capacity to earn several millions of dollars of a year, including a percentage share of overall revenue. The top female players would automatically earn $200,000 under CA's submission. But players remain united in their frustration over why CA no longer wants Sheffield Shield cricketers to share in the set percentage model used since 1997.

A CA spokesman said on Tuesday that the governing body was ready to negotiate.

"CA remains ready and willing to negotiate any time and, unfortunately, it's the ACA that is putting pre-conditions on any negotiation or mediation," he said.

Nicholson said the players remained united in their bid for a fair deal.

"The top players are going into bat for the domestic players, female players and grassroots cricket. That's what this dispute is largely about," he said.

"And what they are asking for is simply to keep what they already have. The players are asking for 22.5 per cent of revenue for them and 22.5 per cent for grass roots, leaving CA with 55 per cent of revenue.

"If they were being greedy they would have taken the deals CA were offering them to walk away from their colleagues.

"David Warner, for example, could actually be worse off for sticking by his mates. That's to his great credit. Nor David or any of the other players have threatened the Ashes with strike action, because the reality is that unless the MOU is resolved, he and the other players will be out of contract.

"No contracts means unemployment, which means no players. That is the reality. Strike action is actually not part of any equation."

The ACA is also bewildered over why CA, guided by steadfast chairman David Peever, has rejected its call for mediation, a move which would at least get the two warring parties talking.