Former Aussie fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick takes Cricket Victoria redundancy
A former Aussie fast bowler and ICC hall of famer, a well-respected administrator and a women’s cricket pioneer have become casualties of Cricket Victoria’s brutal job cuts. But a former AFL coach has survived and will stay on as a talent scout.
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Legendary fast bowler Cathryn Fitzpatrick has become a high-profile casualty of Cricket Victoria’s drastic staff cuts.
Fitzpatrick, a member of the ICC Hall of Fame, was one of CV’s six coaching and talent specialists.
She opted to take a redundancy instead of contesting one of the three high-performance positions to survive the sweeping staff cuts.
The long-serving Paul Montgomery, one of the original Cricket Victoria region managers, and Stephen Field have also left their roles.
Former AFL coach Guy McKenna, ex-Cricket Ireland national Academy manager Craig Hogan and Shane Koop will remain in the smaller coaching and talent unit headed by development manager Dean Russ.
Cricket Victoria trumpeted the arrival of McKenna and Fitzpatrick in September 2017.
CV general manager of cricket operations Shaun Graf said at the time: “We’ve been able to assemble an impressive list of people who collectively bring a broad range of skills to the table.
“Cathryn’s reputation in cricket needs no introduction and Guy brings a unique perspective on athlete management and finding the right attributes for success.
“This group will play a key role out in the field, looking at what we can do better with emerging players and ensuring we have the best systems and structures in place to ensure Victoria continues to produce players in the national pathway.”
At Premier Cricket level, manager Mike Ronchi and administrator Peter Binns have also left CV.
Binns started with the old VCA in November 1983 and had worked in the area of District/Premier Cricket since 1989.
He is widely respected by the clubs.
Ronchi had completed eight seasons as Premier Cricket manager and was behind a raft of changes to the competition, including the introduction of the T20 Victorian Super Slam.
Another casualty is one of Cricket Victoria’s first and longest serving female regional managers, Di Day, who also opted to take a redundancy.
Day, the cricket manager of the Outer East Metropolitan region, had been with the organisation since 2000 and played a key role in the development of female pathways and programs.
“Many meetings I went to as the only female with a lot of older men, who were very passionate and traditional,” she said.
“We kept chipping away and gathering support over a long period of time … to make sure female cricket is front and centre and not just a by product.”
Day, a Level 3 coach, said the crowning moment of her time at CV was this year’s T20 Women’s World Cup final in front of a packed MCG.
“I’m so proud of what happened on March 8 and realisation that we’ve made it now,” she said.
“I’m just hoping it doesn’t start going backwards with this new structure – that I’ve done enough for other people to take it on and continue the legacy and passion.
“I did not expect this brutality, it was just really a ‘wow’ moment in life.
“What makes cricket so great is the people around it.”
She said she planned to stay in the sport and would continue coaching the Under 12 Victorian girls team.
One staff member let go by Cricket Victoria said it was a tough time to being leaving.
“With this pandemic, you don’t really get a chance to say goodbye, go the pub for a drink and a hug and cry as you send yourself off or send others off,’’ he said.
“It’s quite undignified the way it has to be done.’’
Cricket Victoria is set to cut at least half of its staff amid a deep financial crisis, with those wanting to remain with the organisation forced to compete with their colleagues for “contested” positions.
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