A disastrous year in Australian cricket that has claimed chairman, CEO, captain and coach has one more victim who, to this point, remains standing. But only just.
Tangible administrative changes predicted after the ball tampering scandal have finally eventuated with this week’s resignation of chairman David Peever. With it has emerged a certain clarity about the final steps in the clearout. That is, that high-performance chief Pat Howard must be the final domino to fall.
As it stands, Howard’s tenure will come to a natural conclusion in September 2019. Between now and then, Australia plays off for the most valued of cricketing prizes: the World Cup and the Ashes. From both a cultural and performance aspect, Howard’s position is now as out of place as Peever’s.
Peever fell on his sword. (Photo: William West/AFP)
Howard’s seniority since 2011 dictates that the so-called toxic culture that has so damaged the reputation of Australian cricket was, in essence, allowed to take place under his watch.
If, as Cricket Australia claims, the upcoming summer is a new dawn of Australian cricket, his influence on it is wholly out of place. His voice is now unsuitable, unwarranted and for many, unwanted.
Howard has shown himself to be overly obsessive with numbers, infatuated with young talent, at odds with shield and grade cricket, and possessing a certain lack of cricketing naivety.
His background in rugby – long a bugbear of cynics – is not reason alone for a don’t-let-the-door-hit-you sort of departure. But it certainly is a reason.
The recent revelation that Howard sent a scathing email to staff after Australia lost to Bangladesh in 2017 showed, to use his own words, an ‘embarrassing’ lack of awareness. “I am personally embarrassed and take accountability and happy to accept any criticism that comes our way,” he wrote, revealed in Gideon Haigh’s Crossing the Line.
“For some of you sitting here in Dhaka you are fully aware of how poor a result this is.”
This was a Bangladesh Test side that had beaten England on home soil 12 months earlier. A side that had long surpassed easy-beat status, and one with world-class talent in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan.
Howard, however, wasn’t convinced. “I am reasonably confident that many of the players that have just beaten us would not get a run in any of the state teams”, he declared. If you wanted a nutshell example of CA’s “arrogance” as reported in the Longstaff Review, this was it.
Maybe the email was a result of frustration at Australia’s increasingly poor record away from the comfort of home decks.
Under Howard’s watch, Australia has proven time again an inability to adapt to foreign surrounds.
In 2019, the team travels to the UK for successive World Cup and Ashes campaigns squeezed into an action-packed four-month period. Australia go into it having won just two of the last 18 ODIs, and three of its last 15 Tests away from home.
Cricket Australia team performance general manager Pat Howard (AAP Image/Nikki Short)
His position, on results alone as team performance chief, is unsustainable. He is not alone in contributing to our recent failures overseas, but he is also far from blameless.
Howard’s undermining of state and grade cricket has been a significant source of frustration. In part he fostered an environment where the state competition could be tinkered with to suit the national team – something that has irritated many below the top level.
Bonus points for runs, in game ‘player management’ and the introduction of the failed Cricket Australia XI were all introduced or allowed under Howard, all with widespread scorn.
But as we know, the recent tumult in Australian cricket goes beyond systems and results. A laser focus on behaviour, character and values has weeded out those who have, in certain ways, shown to have contributed to a culture that allowed the incident in Cape Town to occur.
A former 20-Test Wallaby, Howard spoke several times of his reverence for the All Blacks, and their approach to the game; hard, fair, shake hands, sweep the sheds. If a personal goal was to replicate the Kiwi framework, he has failed.
Howard has had sceptics since his first day in office. Those sceptics have now developed into a baying mob, in violent agreement that he should follow Peever out the door in quick fashion.
elvis
Roar Rookie
You used to have to compete against all the other players and stand out to be selected from the Shield to play for Australia. Now you get "identified" and picked on potential without having to get the results over a period of time. If CA was a business it would be taken over and all the management sacked.
Brian Corless
Guest
The last dominoe(s) should be the rest of the CA board for the disgraceful decision to not allow free-to-air TV ODI coverage. Another example of the arrogant and greedy CA treating the Australian cricketing public with disdain.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Howard should go, and so should the position - at least in its present form. It serves no purpose except to screw over those who actually have a required job to do. But I am far from convinced he is the "last" who needs to go.
Bunney
Roar Rookie
After reading all the comments, I can honestly say I agree with every one of them! Unheard of at The Roar
fuzhou
Roar Rookie
In regards to both cricket and rugby, is it just me or does anybody else see the massive correlation between the results of our respective national teams in those sports and the administrations' approaches to the club level? In both cases it would seem that when the clubs are forgotten and left to basically fend for themselves, it tends to lead to national team results that are, shall we say politely, less than desirable. At least cricket has the Sheffield Shield which has traditionally been the proving ground for our test players. Why it should be left to founder is beyond my understanding as it has produced world-class players time and time again. And as for high performance units in both sports? Do not get me started on them. My only comment about them would be that they are the greatest waste of money ever and should be disbanded immediately.
Off The Long Run
Guest
Hurrumph
Dean
Roar Rookie
An even better idea would be to remove the high performance position entirely. Following this we should then insist on all our fast bowlers bowling all the time either in tests (if selected) or in the shield. The only exception would be if they were injured. None of this sitting on their million dollar bums by the pool. I'm with Glenn McGrath on this issue. He said he wanted to bowl all the time and was better for it. I know his record is so much better than Starc and Hazelwood who seem incapable of taking wickets. Warne was right about Starc and I've seen nothing to change this opinion.
Dutski
Roar Guru
It's practically a scientific experiment!
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
Raising my both hands and legs to support your opinion.
Peter
Roar Rookie
Wouldn't mind if Greg Chappell departs the scene as well.
Paul
Roar Guru
that conjures up some interesting thoughts! Pat Howard used to be pretty quick over 20 yards. I wonder if he could outrun a spear thrown by....?
Dutski
Roar Guru
My biggest beef with Howard is the management of fast bowlers during his tenure. The biggest risk for fast bowlers is big changes in workload. So the idea of managing the bowlers by underbowling them in the nets and resting them for games is a massive mistake. It sets them up for injury! The proof is in the disastrous way our top bowlers have developed - in and out of the team, regularly injured etc etc For that he deserves the spear, and Pattinson, Starc, Cummins, Behrendorf and any other fast bowler who has spent long times on the injured list should be the ones to throw it.
Paul
Roar Guru
I can't think of one positive that Howard can point to as being something he exclusively has brought to Australian cricket. I was one of the ones questioning his credentials when he was given the job and his failure to contribute in a meaningful way hasn't surprised me at all. On a seperate note, CA put out a response to the Longstaff review which I assume came from Peever with Board backing. Now he's gone, surely this is a chance for the Board to rethink this response, get the players involved ( as recommended in the review) and come up with a collective view, once the new Chairman is in place?
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Yep. Surely he’s got as much credibility as Peever? Perhaps even less, seeing as he was operationally responsible for culture!
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
After all these years I’m still in the dark as to what Howard’s KPIs are. All the ones I can think of should have seen him sacked a long time ago.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Howard is just one of many that need to go. He needs to go now and he needs to be shown the door in a very public display of separation. Sutherland is still there and he also needs to be shown the door as well. He is just as responsible for the poor state of the game here. But the rest of the Board is still there and they either need to show a massive change in philosophy towards the game (maybe Peever was the ring leader and that he is gone we can go back to running it like a sport) or they all need to go as well. Roberts has to do an amazing job showing a different direction because coming in he looks like a Sutherland clone. I would also be replacing the entire sports science team and the physio's as well. They have far to much control over the game and there is enough juncture from other experts in their fields to be concerned with their performance. The other damning statistic is that the the injuries haven't improved for over 25 years. All this resting and management has lead to zero improvement over what they were doing in the early 90's. It is time for a big reset on the way our team is prepared. All of the above does not even go into what I think should happen in the restructuring of the game as a whole. Moving High performance units to the States, changing all State KPI's to be about nothing but winning competitions. 2nd XI should be the best team they can select, not a bunch of 19 year olds. Performance in 1st Grade should be rewarded with 2ndXI selection. Grade should be about winning the comp. Greg Chappell should be removed from his position immediately. His influence has been just as bad as Horward's, even worse if we are talking about the standard of the game here.
nickbrisbane
Guest
Totally agree. Surely Kevin Roberts should go as well?