Cricket Australia has not had a good run with its choice of CEOs in recent times.
Remember James Sutherland, who probably stayed on a few years too long? He presided over the fallout from the ball-tampering incident in 2018 in South Africa which did enormous damage to the game in Australia.
Prior to that he was a key player (or non-player) in the negotiations around a collective bargaining agreement that saw one Australia A tour cancelled, another to Bangladesh almost cancelled and all manner of public threats from both players and management.
Kevin Roberts took over the reins but was forced to resign in 2020 in large part due to his management of CA’s finances in the wake of COVID – he wanted to dismiss 80 per cent of the staff which, not surprisingly, didn’t play well in the media.
Incumbent Nick Hockley then took over the role. Upon hearing of his appointment, Malcolm Speed said his job would be like that of a rookie spinner on debut taking on Virat Kohli.
Speed was obviously suggesting Hockley was going to face some tough challenges, but there’s no way either could have envisaged the mess that Hockley has helped create over the past six months, culminating in the resignation of Justin Langer as Australian coach.
Nick Hockley. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The situation with the national coach started roughly this time last year, following a poor result against the touring Indian team. Players were asked to provide feedback on a range of issues, and Justin Langer’s coaching style was front and centre, at least from a media perspective.
This appeared to have been managed, at least by Langer, who made the commitment to change. Presumably he did so successfully given nothing more was said by either him or CA.
As we’ve recently found out, part of that change was for Langer to adopt less of a hands-on approach to his role, giving more responsibility to his assistants, but this seems to have been exactly the catalyst Cricket Australia needed to force his removal.
Hockley gave a press conference in which he spoke about the team “evolving to the next phase of a more shared leadership model”. He also talked about moving to the “next phase” and “a new phase”, but he gave no indication what these phases were, just that they were justifications for offering Langer only a six-month extension.
In effect they were saying one of two things to Langer: either that they were going to use the next ten months as a probation period to see if he warranted a longer contract or that they didn’t believe he had the required skill set to match the shared leadership model and were going to use the next ten months to prove it.
This is straight after Langer as head coach had a key role to play in the recent Ashes and World Cup successes. Forget about who Cricket Australia decided was more responsible for these efforts; Langer as head coach was the ultimate decision-maker when it came to support staff. To use an Americanism, the buck stopped with him.
The contract extension conversations with Langer were always going to be tough given these successes, so asking an administrator to take on a person famous for being pugnacious and passionate was just asking for trouble, and so it proved.
One outcome is the almost unanimous condemnation about how this ‘process’ was handled, and that has to fall squarely on the shoulders of Nick Hockley.
I’m yet to see a single positive comment from anyone supporting how Hockley managed these negotiations, but I’ve seen dozens of scathing attacks.
Two that stood out for me were from Mitchell Johnson and Mickey Arthur.
Johnson wrote on Instagram: “It‘s very disappointing to watch the treatment of one of the very best humans in cricket, on & off the field. Makes you wonder how the future looks & also makes you wonder why would you want to coach the Australian cricket team.”
Arthur tweeted: “Disgraceful way to treat a coach… offering 6 months is a slap in the face! Either give him a proper extension or move on, by offering 6 months you effectively say you don’t want him but don’t have the balls to fire the bullet!”
These comments about a board unanimous in their support for Hockley’s shared leadership model have created huge problems moving forward.
The players who were disaffected by Langer have had a huge win and in effect CA, through Hockley, has empowered them to run the game not only on the field but off it as well. How will that play out when the next round of collective bargaining happens in the not too distant future?
And if Arthur’s right and Hockley didn’t “have the balls to fire the bullet”, how’s he going to go against the players and the Australian Cricketers Association when the negotiations get tough?
As Johnson said, who’d want to be the head coach, especially in a period of change to a nebulous shared leadership model? Hockley has come up with what appears to be a thought bubble, but now that it’s out in the public domain, he has to make sure it works.
To cap things off, even if the board wanted to move on from Hockley because of his handling of this saga, they couldn’t do so now, especially if they were unanimous in their support. That would be tantamount to saying Langer was correct in his demands for a longer contract.
Justin Langer could rightly say he’s left Australian cricket in a much better position than he found it in, but his efforts have been completely spoiled by some very poor people management.
A situation that should have been handled delicately and discretely has instead been managed almost openly thanks to all the media leaks. It has completely lacked finesse.
At best Nick Hockley’s position ought to be tenuous. His future’s tied to who is chosen as the next head coach, their ability to apply his shared leadership model and the results Australia obtain over the next ten months, the same period of time as Langer would have had.
If the Test team don’t win the away series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and at least make the final of the T20 World Cup, I can’t see how he could keep his job – and the same goes for the board that backed him.
The Verdict
Guest
The best decision he has made has been to turf Langer. The worst decision he made was appointing Langer. The Verdict: Hockley needs to go.
Peter Farrar
Roar Pro
Thanks for another insightful article Paul. As you say, that offer of 6 months was no way to handle this. I expect the Pakistan tour will be a baptism of fire for Andrew McDonald. I can only wonder what is Langer's side to this story. Perhaps we have to wait for the Netflix series.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Look, Hockley clearly isn’t on many Xmas card lists right now. The six month contract (whatever you believe it meant) was at best tokenistic and at worst downright insulting. Hockley and CA must have known Langer wouldn’t accept it, making the concept ill-conceived in the extreme. But… Most of the other things he’s allegedly stuffed up through this process rely either on speculation (eg the source of the leaks) or an assumption that parting ways with Langer was the wrong call. Without having all the facts it’s difficult to actually know the extent to which Hockley deserves criticism here. Some, yes. The volume he’s receiving? Unlikely. To my mind it’s extremely telling that the most vocal outrage is coming from past players who are mates with Langer. Not only are most of them from an era where being the national coach was a substantially different gig, but they are way to close to look at this objectively. To a man, they have tied their criticisms of CA to their firm belief that their buddy Langer was the right guy for the job. There’s no distance there. Arthur is obviously an exception, but the fact that he is also a former head coach who lost his job due in part to player discontent (and has a massive chip on his shoulder when it comes to CA) suggests he might not be the most objective person in all this either. The thing that really gets me though is your assertion that “ If the Test team don’t win the away series in Pakistan and Sri Lanka and at least make the final of the T20 World Cup, I can’t see how he could keep his job”. Even when I disagree with you, Paul, I have enormous respect for how considered your opinions are. But good grief, this would have to be the most absurdly high pass mark I’ve ever seen. The idea that say, a draw in Pakistan, a win in Sri Lanka and reaching the semi final of the World Cup would be a disappointment worthy of sacking the CEO is something I’m really struggling with. To me that would be a pretty solid result for a group that hasn’t had a red ball tour since 2019. It’s also worth noting that when everyone on the CA board was distancing themselves from Paine, Hockley was actually vocal about wanting to see him back in the test side this summer. Hockley will be on public trial for the foreseeable future, which is understandable in the circumstances. But jeez, the dogpiling from all corners is getting a bit tired.
Simoc
Roar Rookie
For the better. It's a pity these exs can't move on. They're irrelevant to the argument and are just backing a mate. The weak author can't see this. Langer did the job required and his contract is up. Time to move on. I'm guessing Paul is aged around 120 years and wants to be liked.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I've thought about this too re the "meltdown meeting". I can't see either Hockley or Oliver deliberately leaking. But I wonder whether one of them said something to someone else in the office corridor and it got out from there? Oliver was the one that prepared the recommendation for the Board. He's a close friend of Langer. I'd love to get hold of his recommendation.
Simoc
Roar Rookie
The mess is between your ears Paul. A backside sniffing attempt at picking the wrong crowd. Only the self entitled has beens have been backing Langer. Hockley saved CA a fortune by not reappointing one who had done his job. The entitlement these fools feel is a bit rich. You are obviously clueless on contracts. Keep hold of your day job. Hockley got this one right. Malcolm Speed performed the opposite of his name.
Paul
Roar Guru
Exactly Matt. I hope I'm wrong but I reckon CA wanted Langer to stay assuming results would be underwhelming, so the finger of blame could be pointed at him. Now unfortunately, it may well be pointed at McDonald and/or the players if things go bad.
Marty
Roar Rookie
Not the new coach, that’s for sure!
matth
Roar Guru
No doubt whoever takes this role is taking a bit of a poisoned chalice. Asian tours traditionally destroy Australia. Defending the World T20 will be a miracle in a format where wins can be a lottery. And England can;t get any worse. Therefore the default position will be that the team performed better with Langer.
matth
Roar Guru
So basically, all leaders are terrible, education is the devil. Got it.
matth
Roar Guru
I think Hockley is another whose been left out to dry. the leaks have been completely counter productive and terrible for him. I assume he's no fool, therefore he didn't leak. Assuming Langer also did not (as some of the leaks were very anti Langer), you are left with one source: the CA Board. Hockley would have had to be reporting to some or all of the board members on this, given it is a key strategic decision for the game. so did one or more board members leak? What was their agenda?
Marty
Roar Rookie
Totally agree, it’s been a right old mess hasn’t it? At the end of the JL’s a big boy and will be fine. If and when he decides to get back into it there will be plenty of offers waiting for him. From a organisational point of view it’s been a disaster. Mickey Arthur nailed, they don’t have the courage to make the big calls. The players know it and so does any prospective coach. Should be an interesting few years ahead.
Paul
Roar Guru
and that's not good, Tempo. Any strong business needs firm, decisive leadership, coupled with an ability to explain decisions. This episode with Langer has been the complete opposite of that.
Paul
Roar Guru
You're right but they'll jump all over someone doing something stupid or a team that loses. If it can play to a sensationalist narrative, they'll be happy to write what ever.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
A good article Paul, I agree wholeheartedly. The warning bells were ringing during the Paine saga at the start of the summer when CA took the path of least resistance and threw him under the bus in his hour of need. Hockley and senior management at CA seem terrified to make any sort of bold decision, or at least that's what it looks like from the outside.
Tempo
Roar Rookie
Not sure about that Paul, our media seems to ignore any cricket that takes place beyond these shores!
Paul
Roar Guru
Thanks Dave. I'd suggest the bar to win the series in Pakistan has just been raised to world record levels, thanks to this recent saga. It was going to be tough for the squad anyway, but the media is going to jump all over any result that is not a comfortable series win. And heaven help any player who steps out of line and gets caught
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Good article Paul. It doesn’t look good from the outside, though I find it hard to have strong opinions about the handling of Langer (apart from the six months extension nonsense) with only partial information. I reckon winning in Pakistan might be a high bar to get over.
Brian Westlake
Roar Rookie
Is this bloke related to Craig Tiley by chance? When you have ex players and captains blowing up (SK Warne excluded, because he'd blow up at anything). Make everything transparent and lets see the faceless few become "faces" to justify the new/next phase. Sad
Steve Edwards
Guest
Hockley and the board are not needed because it seems that they are allowing are few senior players to run the show. Who will hold the players responsible for the lack of performance.