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The major challenge for Pat Howard will be to get states to put the national team first, according to the body representing Australia’s first-class cricketers.
Australian Cricketers’ Association chief Paul Marsh says Howard, a former rugby union coach who has been handed the role of Cricket Australia’s new general manager team performance, must grapple with some complex political issues.
“Bringing all the states together, it’s going to need someone who’s very good at building relationships, a really good leader who can develop a vision and get all these different stakeholders to follow it,” Marsh said on Thursday.
“The states historically, they just have such conflicting agendas with Cricket Australia on some issues.
“That’s the real challenge here, to get everyone on the same page. He needs to get a vision together that they can all follow.
“He’s going to be managing the coaches and that’s going to be a real challenge.
“Getting states to actually prioritise Australian cricket over state cricket is going to be really difficult.”
Marsh said he was surprised to see former Wallabies player Howard get the job, but he welcomed the appointment.
“He comes really highly recommended by a few people I know in rugby and I look forward to working with him,” the players’ union boss said.
“He ticks every box other than having a cricket background.
“He has worked in high performance in another elite sport, he has been a coach, he has been a selector, he has been a player, he has got a strong sports-science background as well.
“He’s not a cricketer but I understand he has a passion for the game.”
CA is now looking to fill the key roles of chief selector and head coach, possibly in the next month.
“The coaching situation, we’ve got Troy Cooley who is doing it at the moment (on the South African tour), and Troy has another very important job in Australian cricket which this is taking him away from (head coach of the centre of excellence in Brisbane),” Marsh said.
“As quick as we can get a coach in place the better. From a selection point of view, it’s all in limbo at the moment.
“We need to make these appointments as quickly as we can, but we’ve got to balance it with making sure the process is right and find the right people.”
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