Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts sacked, Nick Hockley named interim CEO
Having shown CEO Kevin Roberts the door due to his poor handling of the COVID-19 fallout, the feeling within CA is that for true progress now to be made, Players Association boss Greg Dyer must go too.
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Having culled their own head man, Cricket Australia power brokers may now ask the players to do the same.
In the hours following Kevin Roberts’ stunning axing on Tuesday as chief executive, the bleak outlook that was suffocating cricket immediately brightened as CA went back on an original bid to slash matches out of its domestic schedule.
Chairman Earl Eddings declared he was confident broadcasters would pay the full freight of their next TV rights payment and optimism grew that Cricket Australia’s national teams high performance staff would be spared major job cuts in Wednesday’s round of redundancies.
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However, despite signs that the embarrassing mess was finally thawing out, there is still a feeling from inside CA that cricket won’t get the clean slate it needs until the Players Association also moves on their boss, Greg Dyer.
Certainly Roberts was tarred by his involvement in the ugly pay war with players back in 2017 and his rapid demise on Tuesday was proof that he was never going to be capable of developing a constructive working relationship with his male and female stars.
Along with losing the trust of the board, it was a key reason why his position became untenable and there will be a push on for CA to find a new CEO from outside the Jolimont bubble that won’t bring baggage from past roles in cricket or other sports.
Privately, though, CA figures feel that Dyer’s ongoing presence at the helm of the players also brings its own level of accumulated scar tissue which is jeopardising progress.
Cricket Australia sought the same eye-for-an-eye approach after former Chairman David Peever resigned following the 2017 cultural review, and it’s likely the players would meet any fresh bid to unseat their Chairman with as much resistance and disdain as they did last time.
In the COVID crisis, the players had leading States NSW and Queensland on their side.
The more immediate microscope is being put over the actions of the Cricket Australia board itself, after Eddings on Tuesday took full responsibility for the controversial cost-cutting decisions made, while maintaining a leadership change was needed and it was Roberts who had to go.
Eddings denied Roberts was a scapegoat.
“Not at all. I think Kevin and I and the board have worked out over the last three to four months that things do need to change,” said Eddings.
“Kevin has tendered his resignation. It was agreed by us and we’re moving forward.”
Former NSW Chairman John Warn came within a whisker of being appointed James Sutherland’s successor as CA chief executive back in 2017, only for the board to ultimately endorse Roberts.
Warn is highly credentialed and well-respected by the bulk of the playing group who come from NSW.
Current CA board member John Harnden and Western Australia chief executive Christina Matthews were also candidates back in 2017 who may again feature prominently in the reckoning, along with interim CA chief executive Nick Hockley, who is in charge of the T20 World Cup campaign.
Former NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg has a background in cricket but did not apply for the CA post when it was vacant two years ago.
Ex NRL and FFA boss David Gallop was not on Cricket Australia’s radar last time around but is a well-regarded sporting executive who also has background in the game.
Eddings promised an extensive search and a long-term replacement for Roberts is not expected for some time.
“We’ll look at all options. It’s such an important role,” said Eddings.
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“We’ll search long and wide and get the best possible person for the role. We’ll work through criteria in the weeks and months coming up and come up with someone with the right skill set. But it’s too early to say what that might look like.”
Players were up in arms about proposed cuts to the domestic schedule, but it was confirmed on Tuesday that competitions like the Sheffield Shield, WBBL and WNCL would operate in full this summer.
Earl said he expected Channel 7 and Fox Sports to meet their TV rights payments in full in September.
“I don’t see any reason – we have got really strong commercial partners, we get on really well, we are in constant communication, we will hold up our end of the bargain – I am sure Channel 7 and Foxtel will as well.”
Originally published as Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts sacked, Nick Hockley named interim CEO