SYDNEY: The aftermath of the much-discussed Longstaff cultural review is seeing widespread changes amongst Cricket Australia’s top brass as team performance manager Pat Howard has been sacked, weeks after he declared that he won’t be seeking a contract extension once it expires in 2019.
Howard was the first person to be hired by the board for the post in 2011 after another independent study, the Argus Review and was responsible for creating new player and coach pathways in Australian cricket.
However, with the men’s national team performances on the decline since their 2015 World Cup win on home soil, his tenure has been questionable due to the inability of Australia producing the world’s best talent anymore. He also courted controversy recently over disrespecting the team as well as Bangladesh, to whom they lost a Test match in Dhaka in 2017 for the first time ever.
On an interim basis, Howard will be replaced by Belinda Clark, the former Australian women’s cricket team captain who once held the record for the highest ODI score in the game of 229. Clark was earlier involved in a similar capacity but with community cricket. She could return to her permanent role in 2019 till Howard’s permanent successor is named.
Cricket Australia (CA) have also let go of Ben Amarfio, the head of cricket.com.au, the board’s digital media arm. According to a report in news.com.au, Amarfio had to be ‘escorted’ and ‘evicted’ out of the office by CA’s head of security Sean Carroll.
As a result, a new department has been formed called ‘Fan Engagement’ which will merge the digital team’s operations with the ‘Events and Leagues’ team, making former Big Bash boss Anthony Everard in charge of improving the board’s relationship with fans of the game and the Australian teams across the globe.
Changes to the broadcasting, digital media and commercial team see Stephanie Beltrame stepping into a new role, as Interim EGM Broadcasting and Commercial. Beltrame will continue to deepen the relationships with broadcast partners and will work to ensure the ongoing growth of CA’s commercial partnerships.
Previously the head of People and Culture, Raj Tapper is now GM of People and Culture. Similarly, an increased focus on digital transformation will see Mike Osborne as GM of Technology.
A search will commence immediately for a COO, a position previously held by current CEO, Kevin Roberts.
“It is clear that we need to deepen our relationships with fans, players and the broader cricket community.
“We are committed to making cricket stronger and developing closer connections with the community and greater alignment across the organisation.
“Everyone at CA is focused on rebuilding and moving forward after what has been a turbulent year in Australian cricket.” Roberts said.
