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'Unavoidable': Cricket Australia warns of extensive job cuts
By Andrew Wu
Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts has doubled down on the organisation's grim financial forecast, warning extensive job cuts loomed, but there remains scepticism from stakeholders over the governing body's claims it is in a financial crisis.
On the day Jolimont was to disclose its cricket revenue forecast for the 2020-21 season to players, the under-pressure chief said job losses were "unavoidable" despite his confidence India's $300 million tour this summer would go ahead.
Cricket Australia CEO Kevin Roberts has warned of more job losses in the game.Credit: Getty Images
It has emerged CA chairman Earl Eddings wrote to the International Cricket Council to state Australia's preference for this year's Twenty20 World Cup to be moved back 12 months. The request was made in response to the ICC's call for preferred alternatives should the event be postponed due to the pandemic.
In a bizarre chain of events, the email was leaked to Indian media, sparking the world governing body to launch a probe "to ensure the sanctity and confidentiality of board matters". There is a suspicion multiple officials could be responsible for leaks.
A decision on the tournament's future is now expected to come no earlier than June 10 at the next ICC board meeting.
A day after the NRL resumed and as the AFL nears its return, Roberts continued to talk down CA's financial situation, saying the governing body faced an $80 million shortfall this season due to COVID-19. This figure raised eyebrows among stakeholders already doubtful over CA's numbers.
There has been a haemorrhaging of jobs at state associations with WA the latest to move with 11 redundancies, taking the national count to almost 150.
That number is set to swell significantly with CA unable to guarantee staff they will have a job to return to at the start of the next financial year when the stand-downs were due to end.
Community cricket has been hit hard, particularly in Victoria, which is most exposed due to the power of the AFL.
"We've made a commitment to significantly reduce the cost base of Cricket Australia. Unfortunately, that means that no area of the organisation will be untouched," Roberts said.
"It's premature to talk about the details of those plans. That will come in the not-too-distant future. We are really focused on the activities that will drive positive cash flow for Australian cricket given the importance of CA generating revenue to support states and territories.
"We're also focused on maintaining as much investment as possible in community cricket as a critical strategic priority for us. But no area of the organisation will be untouched.
"As I’ve said before, it’s unfortunate that there will be an impact on our people. But as you’d appreciate, we’re stepping through the planning of that very carefully to make sure that we can minimise on the impact of the circumstances.
"There will be an impact but it’s very important that we work through that sensitively towards our people and our communities around the country. "
Though Roberts said continued investment in community cricket was CA's "highest priority" he said that area also faced cuts.
"It’s fair to say there will be reductions right across Cricket Australia and that’s unavoidable given the need to reduce to the extent that we are."
The states and players, however, do not believe CA's financial future is as bleak as headquarters is portraying, pointing to the high likelihood of the scheduled Test and one-day international series against India going ahead.
But Roberts said a postponement of the Twenty20 World Cup would cost $20 million, though that could be recouped when rescheduled, while biosecurity arrangements would cost $10 million.
It also faced a shortfall of $50 million in revenue from not having crowds however the gate is shared by states and venues, while a source has said profits from ticket sales are relatively low. Roberts said CA was a further $10 million from debtors remained outstanding.
Roberts said he could not be certain the entire international fixture, released Thursday night, would be played.
"It could be everything from the season delivered in full to significant issues with bringing teams in," Roberts said.
"We're very optimistic that we'll be able to stage the Indian men's tours and the other inbound tours for the season. We're realistic enough to know they will look very different to a normal summer.
"In terms of all the scenarios no one has a crystal ball, none of us have lived through a situation like this before and hence we've been forced to effectively plan for the worst and hope for the best.
"We're optimistic that we will withstand this situation and we're hopeful we can deliver the season looking very similarly to the schedule we've just released."
Roberts, however, said CA was still owed $10 million from debtors, and there was great uncertainty associated with the coronavirus crisis.
NSW and Queensland are still waiting for more numbers from CA while the players' union has set a Friday deadline on projections on Australian cricket revenue for next season.
Roberts denied claims CA had withheld information from the states, saying it had answered questions in emails and video meetings.
"We've certainly answered just about every question that's come out way, there's a couple that remain to be answered and we're in the process of doing so, and there's some that are of a more confidential nature," Roberts said.