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On 13 October 2011, Pat Howard was appointed general manager of high performance by Cricket Australia, answerable only to chief exec James Sutherland.
It was the most extraordinary selection in the history of cricket.
Howard was a former Wallaby, whose father Jake was a teak tough Australian international prop in the 70s, while his grandfather, the legendary Wallaby centre Cyril Towers, reigned supreme in the 20s and 30s.
Howard held the same high-performance position at the ARU, which made sense with so much Wallaby blood flowing through his veins.
But by his own admission his cricket knowledge could have fitted on a pin-head, yet his Cricket Australia appointment, a new position created by the flawed Argus Report, meant Howard was more senior in status than the national selectors and even the Australian captain.
Imagine if Cricket Australia had tried to pull the same stunt on Ian Chappell; the fur would have bee flying.
In his hey-day Chappell was the one and only, and he was brilliant.
There was no head coach, no bowling coach, no fielding coach, no physio, no medical man, no trainer – just a manager and a scorer, and woe betide any manager who butted into cricket on-field business.
Today there are just about as many Chiefs as Indians. The Australian side is top heavy with totally unnecessary hangers on, none more so than Pat Howard.
In the five years he’s held the position, Shane Warne’s called him a “muppet”, while Shane Watson suggested Howard know more about the sport before he doubted Watson’s commitment.
And yesterday Howard said he was turning to retired opener Chris Rogers for advice on the persistent batting failures as the selectors’ jobs are on the line, and Howard’s as well.
Howard’s job situation is simple.
He had no idea when he started and obviously hasn’t learned enough in the interim, so make the position redundant.
Selection chairman Rod Marsh has already advised Cricket Australia he’s retiring when his contract expires next year, and that leaves Mark Waugh, Darren Lehmann, and Trevor Hohns whose contracts are up at the same time.
Lehmann is there because of the flawed Argus Report, that the captain and coach must be selectors. At least Michael Clarke realised he couldn’t captain the side and select as well – a sure recipe for disaster within the side.
Lehmann didn’t.
Players play, coaches coach, and selectors select and never the twain shall meet, so Lehmann should lose his selection job and concentrate on coaching.
Hohns was a long-time chairman of selectors, better known among the players as “Hatchet Hohns” for his delight in dumping experienced cricketers for youth, so return the compliment and dump Hohns so the panel can be reduced to three.
The flawed Argus Report stated the chairman was the only full-time employee with the others part-time.
Ignore that. Make all three selectors full-time on $200,000 a year, with one attending each of the three Sheffield Shield games. When there are no Shield games attend state second X1 games, or first-grade district cricket.
Make Waugh chairman, bring Simon Katich into the fold which might make up for not supporting him in his SCG dressing room spat with Michael Clarke, and bring in Roar expert Glenn Mitchell who has been calling and/or covering cricket at international and Shield level for over two decades.
The team of Waugh, Katich, Mitchell and no Howard will give Cricket Australia more clout with the most important section of Australian cricket – the players.