When Australian fast bowler James Pattinson broke down during the second Test against South Africa in Adelaide, he joined pace colleague Patrick Cummins on the sideline for the rest of the season.
Which begs the question is Pat Howard, the former Wallaby who loves his cricket but admitted on appointment a year ago that he knows very little about the sport, doing his job?
Yet he is the GM of team performance, which translates to keeping the best cricketers in the country injury free.
Howard held the same position with the Australian Rugby Union where he did know his sport. But that didn’t help with a string of injuries to the Wallabies.
The 38-year-old Howard is a pharmacist, whatever that has to do with the appointment.
To explain how senior he is in the pecking order of Cricket Australia the head coach, the chairman of selectors, the team manager, and the manager of the Centre of Excellence all report to Howard.
All four would have forgotten more about cricket than Howard will probably ever know. Yet, on top of all that, Howard is responsibile for the welfare of cricketers.
Cummins and Pattinson are two glaring examples of Howard failing them, if the brief given to Howard is accurate.
It’s all part of the flawed Argus Review that included recommending employing five national selectors, of which John Inverarity is the only full-timer, two part-timers in Rod Marsh and Andy Bichel, the captain Michael Clarke, and coach Micky Arthur.
A ridiculous set-up. It should be Inverarity, Marsh, and Bichel all full-time, and no Clarke or Arthur.
Selectors select, players play, and coaches coach and they should never meet under the same roof with a common purpose.
Cricket Australia has undergone a huge shake-up as well, falling into the current trap of concentrating on directors with commercial expertise and ignoring those who know their cricket.
Wally Edwards is the chairman of the new board, who last played Test cricket 40 years ago, but he is in touch with the modern game.
Of the six directors, one from each state, and three independent directors, only Michael Kasprowitz representing Queensland is a recent Test cricketer.
One out of nine, and former Test captain Mark Taylor was snubbed as an independent director.
The new Australian Rugby League Commission has fallen into the same trap, full of commercial gurus, and just one reasonably recent Kangaroo in Wayne Pearce.
Again one out of nine.
The ARLC has gone even further by appointing high-flying banking Welshman Dave Smith, a social rugby player of the past who thinks State of Origin is exciting, as the new Chief Exec.
Which begs another question: is sport, where there’s millions of television and sponsorship dollars in the kitty, concentrating on making those dollars work at the expense of having board members who really know their sport and are very capable of promoting it?
Pat Howard isn’t working, and it remains to be seen if those who know so little of the sport that they are supposed to be directing will stuff up the same way.
Sam
Guest
David is not suggesting that is Howard's fault that Pattinson got injured again, he is questioning the structure of Cricket Australia and stating that injuries are an inevitable occurrence. It is simply ridiculous that Siddle and Hilfenhaus have been 'rested' for arguably Australia's biggest test match in ten years.
Kristin Carville
Roar Rookie
Sorry David, but I think that you have missed the mark here. Yes, he oversees the running of a number of departments, but was it he that created their training program? No. Is it he who treats them for their injuries ? No. Yes, he has something that he needs to address now as a result of these injuries. You must also consider a very good point that Stuart Clark made on Inside Cricket last night. These days players are making their international debuts at younger ages. This means they are in the public spotlight earlier and therefor these injuries are more widely publcised. The reality is that the vast majority of bowlers in first class cricket suffer similar injuries at similar ages - its part of developing as a fast bowler. The fast bowlers in generations gone by suffered these injuries whilst still only playing at first class level, so they were not so well publicised, and by the time they made their international debut at 25 they had made the necessary adjustments to counteract the injuries. To me David this whole article just sounds like a whinge at the changing setups of modern sports administrations.
Matt F
Roar Guru
Spot on. It's not his fault that Pattinson got injured but the number of injuries of late would suggest that it's time he hired a new physio. The increase in injuries since Alex Kontouris took over as physio/team doctor from Errol Alcott (my spelling is probably wrong for both of them!) is surely something that Cricket Australia have noticed? It's hard to believe that it's all coincidental
bigbaz
Guest
I usually enjoy Davids writings but this was rubbish.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Is Pat Howard the trainer, physio, high performance manager? No. Does he employ them? Yes. Are they performing in their roles? Injury rates suggest they are not. Should Pat Howard take action? Yes. As for the selectors I agree that Clarke should not be a selector. The Argus review was right in some ways and wrong in many ways.
jameswm
Guest
How can Patto being injured be Howard's fault? Is he Patto's physio, or his strength and conditioning trainer? Patto stayed home and played a few Shield games in the lead-up to these tests. We all thought he had the perfect lead-up. Side strains happen I'm afraid. maybe he didn't warm up well enough on the field but again, that's not Howard's fault.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Not sure how Pattinson getting injured is Howard's fault... The reality is that elite players (of pretty much any sport these days) will suffer injuries. These guys are pushing their bodies right to (and sometimes past) the edge, in a way that has never been done before. Part of Howard's job would be (I presume) ensure that the players are getting the best support they can in terms of up-to-date training methods, diet, etc. But let's face it, even with the ideal preparation, there will be injuries. What CA needs to do is to ensure there are plenty of backup options when the inevitable happens. Luckily we seem to have a reasonable amount of bowlers who are coming through. There's plenty of competition amongst the wicketkeepers, and just maybe Khawaja and Hughes are starting to fulfill their promise in the batting department. A strong squad makes for a strong team.
womble
Guest
Why blame P Howard when P Cummins and J Pattinson breake fingernails? He can only point them in the right direction.