The revelations on Tuesday that Cricket Victoria plans to merge Stars and Renegades under a new name and colours for the upcoming BBL, while selling off the second BBL license entirely to a private owner, has caused chaos and confusion across Australian cricket. ESPNcricinfo understands that NSW are particularly angered by the situation and held a call with SA and Queensland, the other two states with varying concerns over privatisation, to discuss the issue on Wednesday before requesting an unscheduled meeting with CA on Thursday.

Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the ACA, delivered the strongest statement yet in the aftermath of CV’s announcement amid uncertainty among players. ESPNcricinfo had been contacted by players seeking further details while a number from both Melbourne clubs have reached out to the players’ union since the news broke on Tuesday evening about the merger. Marsh delivered a statement via social media strongly urging a fractured Australian cricket to come together.

“There has been much recent discussion around privatising the Big Bash League clubs,” Marsh said. “This is a significant decision for Australian cricket and one that the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) believes must be made with the long-term, broader interests of the game in mind.

“As it stands, Australian cricket is not unified on a way forward and as a result, we are a long way off a solution.

“Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Cricket Australia (CA), the States and the ACA, it is clear that agreement must be reached with the ACA for any Big Bash clubs to be privatised. Whilst a potential agreement between CA and the ACA is being discussed, it is not imminent and as such, anby talk of privatising any teams for the coming season is premature.

“Cricket Victoria’s announcement about a merger between the Stars and Renegades with the introduction of a new, privately owned club has created confusion, uncertainty and anxiety amongst players. Whilst this may or may not happen at some point in the future, we reiterate that there is a process to play out here before this can occur.

“The ACA believes now is the critical juncture for all in Australian cricket to come together to find the best model for the future of all stakeholders in our game.”

CA CEO Todd Greenberg also released a statement on Wednesday stressing that nothing had been decided yet.

“We continue to work with the States to explore options for private investment in the Big Bash Leagues,” he said. “There’s still plenty of work to be done and nothing has been decided or approved as yet.

“We are aware of Cricket Victoria’s intentions, which would still mean there are two teams in Melbourne. As I’ve said before, private investment would involve some changes to the Big Bash Leagues and the clubs as we look to secure the future of Australian Cricket.”

There was initial confusion around the situation for the players but each contracted playing member was contacted by representatives from CV on Tuesday to assure them that their deals would remain in place despite the administrative changes.

Stars have 10 contracted men, which include long-time stalwarts Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis, and seven WBBL players including Meg Lanning, Annabel Sutherland and Marizanne Kapp. Those players will all remain on contract for the merged team.

Renegades have nine BBL players, including Oli Peake and Jake Fraser-McGurk, but not Adam Zampa who is looking for a new home, while in the WBBL six contracts include Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham.

The two clubs will need to fill the remaining lists with 18 spots for the men and 15 for the women. That will be done by the list management teams for each however those groups have not been finalised.

The coaches for each BBL team are not set for next season despite Cameron White (Renegades) and Peter Moores (Stars) having a year to run on their contracts. Renegades do not have a WBBL coach after Simon Helmot resigned while Andrew Christie is contracted to Stars.

Adding to the uncertainty, long-time Renegades general manager, James Rosengarten, who has been heavily involved in list decisions will now take control of the new merged team. Meanwhile Stars general Max Abbott, who oversaw Clint McKay as Stars director cricket and Moores as coach, has been moved over to the caretaker role with Renegades.