Cricket Australia restructure system as Graeme Hick among 40 redundant staff
Hick was associated with Australian team since 2016
|Adam Collins - Twitter
Cricket Australia have announced a major financial overhaul as part of a A$40 million package of savings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Justin Langer has announced that Graeme Hick is among the most high-profile casualties, with the batting coach having been found redundant by CA.
24 hours after Kevin Roberts was removed from the position of Cricket Australia CEO, the CA chairman Earl Eddings declared that 40 staff have been made redundant by Cricket Australia as part of a A$40 million package of savings to reshape the organisation. While community cricket and commercial departments have avoided major staff losses, high-performance programs at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and coaching staff for the national teams have suffered the bigger casualties.
The major name on the list is Graeme Hick, who has been associated with the Australian team since 2016 as the team’s batting coach. Justin Langer announced the decision while applauding the Englishman’s work ethic and knowledge of the game. The former England batsman has been a tireless workhorse in the nets, sending throwdowns on a regular basis while working on players’ techniques tirelessly.
"It's been a tough few days actually, that's the truth of it. You couldn't meet a person with greater integrity than Graeme Hick. It's a really tough call. It's nothing he's done, it's more the impact of the cost-cutting that we're doing because of the COVID situation. We'll all have to adapt and again hopefully one of my strengths in the past has been able to adapt to different situations and I'll have to lead the way. That's the most important thing about leadership is that you walk the talk," said Langer, reported Cricbuzz.
While Eddings confirmed that the major domestic competitions - Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup, Women's National Cricket League, BBL and WBBL will go on as usual for the next season, the 2nd XI competition and pathway programmes at U-15 and U-17 level have been paused for the next financial year. It has also been announced that there will be no Australia A tours or Cricket Australia XI fixtures.
