Tony Jones: It's time for John Howard and Bob Hawke to intervene in the cricket pay dispute

It’s been 10 years since John Howard departed The Lodge and 25 years since Bob Hawke handed the keys back.

But, to steal a phrase from another former prime minister, “it’s time”.

It’s time both these men returned to the political fray to resolve one of the biggest issues facing Australia.

The cricket pay dispute.

While mediation has been considered taboo in this spat, surely there are no two men more qualified to settle the crisis.

It was Mr Hawke who revived the annual PM’s XI match against visiting teams.

Former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies started the tradition back in 1951, but eventually it fell by the wayside before Mr Hawke breathed new life into back in 1983.

There was also Mr Hawke’s annual cricket showdown with the Canberra press gallery, which didn’t always go to plan.

The image of the PM copping one to the face in 1984, shattering his glasses, remains one of the more iconic political sporting photos.

Fast forward a couple of decades and Mr Hawke further cemented his place in cricket folklore with his now annual beer skol at the SCG.

While none of the above attributes qualify Mr Hawke for intervention status in this current dispute, surely his years of wrangling as head of the ACTU puts him in a sound position.

Could this be one last hurrah for Mr Hawke to save the day?

The same applies to fellow cricket tragic, John Howard.

Himself a keen participant, Mr Howard will, unfortunately, be best remembered for his ill-fated delivery during an official visit to Pakistan in 2005.

Years later Mr howard would reflect on that delivery.

“They had a ball that was basically the inside of a tennis ball with some white tape around it,’’ he said.

Sadly for the then-PM, the ball became stuck in his hand.

The delivery failed to reach mid-pitch before rolling off it completely.

To this day it remains a favourite for TV goof shows.

Mishaps aside, Mr Howard is perfectly qualified to intervene in the pay dispute.

He’s already on the record in calling for “common sense” to prevail.

He has an astute knowledge of the sport - and has, on occasions, dabbled in industrial relations.

Overnight, the standoff became politicised.

It made its way to the corridors of 10 Downing Street, where Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his British counterpart Theresa  May were quizzed about the spat which is threatening to derail the upcoming Ashes series.

Neither PM played a straight bat to the line of questioning, instead expressing a desire for the dispute to be settled.

In fairness to Mrs May and Mr Turnbull, there are far more pressing issues to deal with than sorting out a cricket war.

All the more reason to bring the unlikely combination of Mr Howard and Mr Hawke to the crease.

Both have faced a barrage of bouncers over the years and, fair to say, they’ve delivered a few of their own.

So, c’mon Bob, c’mon John: your country needs you.