The bloodletting has continued at Cricket Australia with senior executives Pat Howard and Ben Amarfio given their marching orders.
Howard, who was in charge of CA’s high-performance unit and intended to depart when his contract expired after the 2019 Ashes, will leave next week.
Former Australia captain Belinda Clark, another member of CA’s executive, will perform Howard’s job on an interim basis until the governing body settles on a permanent replacement.
Amarfio, CA’s general manager of broadcasting, digital media and commercial, is already out the door.
New chief executive Kevin Roberts was under pressure to enact cultural change after The Ethics Centre’s scathing assessment of CA’s corporate culture.
“It is clear that we need to deepen our relationships with fans, players and the broader cricket community,” Roberts said in a statement.
“Everyone at CA is focused on rebuilding and moving forward after what has been a turbulent year.”
The Cape Town cheating scandal has prompted an overhaul at the sporting organisation, which has bid goodbye to coach Darren Lehmann, chief executive James Sutherland, chairman David Peever and two other directors this year.
Howard was appointed manager of team performance in 2011. He was one of the governing body’s most polarising and powerful figures.
The creation of Howard’s senior role, which involved responsibilities including the hiring and firing of senior coaches plus helping conduct a formal investigation of the ball-tampering saga, was one of the key recommendations of the Argus review.
Amarfio joined CA in 2012 and oversaw this year’s broadcast-rights negotiations which resulted in a record $1.2-billion deal but public outcry over men’s ODIs and Twenty20s being shifted off free to air.
CA adopted a combative approach to TV talks that often became heated, as reflected by a leaked email from Peever to Channel Ten’s American owners CBS.
“The tactics (from Ten) are appalling on a number of levels … they are not prepared to challenge their operating model to be anything other than bottom feeders in this market,” Peever wrote.
Amarfio has long rubbed CA staff the wrong way, with the most notable example being a request that his secretary cook and serve him a hot breakfast in his glass-encased office.
Peever and long-serving director Mark Taylor are yet to be replaced on CA’s board.
Taylor nominated Simon Katich as a contender to become a director but the former Test batsman has made it clear he has other pressing commitments.
Taylor’s exit leaves Michael Kasprowicz as the only former first-class or international player on CA’s board, a worrying result given the “commercialisation of cricket“ was among many concerns flagged by The Ethics Centre.
Tom
Guest
I thought I was reading a betoota satire piece when I read that. Unbelievable
Rellum
Roar Guru
I think we should be clear that just sacking inept people like these two does not solve the problems in the game. The roles themselves need to be reviewed, changed and potentially in the case of the High performance manager dispensed with altogether.
Bamboo
Guest
Mate 100% sarcasm. Hes either guilty by compliance or by incompetence. Either way, not the type of guy you'd give a mentors role to looking after the next generation of international players only 6 weeks after sandpaper gate happened. Its stinks of cover up. When reports of him offering his resignation (before the hearings) surfaced, Sutherland jumped on a plane to SA - this being 24hrs after he said he wasn't going over there. I think the timing of Lehmanns resignation to the public has been carefully managed by CA so that they can stick with the cheating individuals angle. If he quits before Steve Smiths apology hes part of the crime. If the captain, vice captain, coach and junior players are in on it, who isn't? Funnily enough the rest are bowlers pretty much. All CAs objective has been is to keep this about cheating individuals. If its a cheating team the sports reputation is in tatters and every sponsor is heading for the door. The impact would be in the hundreds of millions. Remember the new broadcasting rights were being renegotiated during this period...
jameswm
Roar Guru
And the kids watch it a lot during their school holidays. The Big Bash is getting a lot of kids in.
pakistanstar
Roar Rookie
This "High Performance" department was created for the sake of change. We were the best test playing nation for 120 years until this happened and now we've been an also ran for the last 7. Hopefully the door hits him on the way out. Never heard of Amarfito until today but he doesn't sound like the kind of guy that can mingle with the common man. I'm hoping the door hits him too.
Nick
Roar Guru
Ken Irvine. Or he'll at least say why Ken Irvine was the greatest sports administrator Australia never had... and then rattle out his stats
BennO
Roar Rookie
I definitely agree we need to prioritise shield cricket, although since I've been following cricket in the mid 80s, it's never had huge crowds. It's the prep for test cricket, the ultimate, and we need to focus on that. But. The Big Bash is awesome. I love to be able to watch a game every night when work is quiet and the year hasn't really started to get stressful. It's a really fun format with great vibes all the way. I think it's at the perfect time of year and is a great comp. I can't wait for January and for the tests.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
David Pocock.
Damo
Guest
#letbowlersbowl
Peter
Roar Rookie
Will the last one out of Jolimont turn the lights off.
golfunion
Roar Rookie
Darren Lehmann deserves no sympathy, in my view his role in this debacle was the most delinquent of all, he was never held to account for any of his coaching/selection decisions, he rarely communicated in any meaningful way with cricket followers in fact he was ambivalent most of the time, he should have been dismissed the day the ball tampering occurred, why is it that in cricket and rugby our coaching staff treat the paying public with such contempt, don’t we deserve to be told what their selection methodologies are and their aspirations for their respective teams. All national coaches in all sports have that fundamental responsibility.
Paul D
Roar Guru
He'll probably suggest Kevin Rudd next, he knows a thing or two about being parachuted back into running a discredited organisation to try and drum up some good PR.
AREH
Roar Guru
Kudos Pat for leaving the sport in a far worse state than when you arrived; even if revenues and bank balances have never been stronger. A role that should never have been created.
Murray Olds
Guest
Could not agree more...The almighty dollar aka TV ratings says Big Bash cricket is where our best players must play early in the season. No time to bat and bat in Shield cricket. And then we wonder why our batsmen perform so badly. And the high performance unit? A sad joke, have a look at where Australian cricket is now rating.
Nick
Roar Guru
Can't wait for David Lord's article on which cricketer, politician, chum should be the next high performance manager...along with the customary stats summary of said person.
Kopa shamsu
Guest
pat howard gone ? I am gonna have a party tonight. Bloodletting? You have got to be kidding. These people have bleeded Australian cricket for so long
Simoc
Guest
That's been a good week for CA. Howard was a forlorn flop, useless at everything except keeping his snout in the trough. Maybe if Roberts were to go to that would create a refreshing new look for the organization with all new people in front of the crowd.
josh
Roar Rookie
Really? Darren had his own quirks that assisted.
Paul D
Roar Guru
That popping sound you hear is fat lips being ripped off the public tit Had never heard of Amarfio before this article but he sounds like a right tosser
Paul
Roar Guru
A curiosity question, because I don't really care - I wonder where Howard will end up working? His track record at CA is way less than stellar.