Latest Review into Australian Cricket

[Burgey]

Out today in the wake of the South African fiasco.

Here's a summary from the Grauen Australia site. Looks like a lot of tree hugging hippy crap to me at first blush, with CA not really answering the most important question - how it can oversee the problematic culture for so long yet somehow sheet it home to everyone else.

Anyway:

Cricket

1. Australian cricket establish a three-person ethics commission, which would have no formal powers. Its purpose would be to hold everyone in Australian cricket “accountable to the ethical foundations for the game”

2. The establishment of the Australian Cricket Council, a consultative body to meet twice a year

3. Require CA to set up a mechanism for consulting with fans

5. Player honours, such as the Allan Border Medal, take into account character and behaviour as well as performance

7. CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association to start a process where they establish a constructive working relationship within 30 days

9. Umpires have the power, after one informal warning, to send off players in Test, Sheffield Shield and grade matches

National Team
12. The current performance bonus is converted so it recognises contributions to the game such as positive relationships with fans and sponsors

14-15. The vice-captaincy is de-coupled from being the heir apparent to the captaincy. Players with leadership capacity have formal leadership training

16. Players on CA contracts encouraged and enabled to have active involvement with Shield and grade cricket

17. Test and one-day players be excused from playing international T20 cricket so they can play in Shield and grade matches (this was the only recommendation that CA rejected)

Cricket Australia
19. CA leadership accept its share of responsibility for the circumstances that gave rise to the ball-tampering scandal

28-29. CA amend its anti-harassment code so that the definition of harassment includes sledging. Also, CA makes explicit a general prohibition against bullying conduct

37. High Performance Unit staff are banned from industrial negotiations with players. CA says this recommendation is under consideration

41. Selectors be required to take into account a player’s character as well as their skills when picking teams.

 

[Burgey]

Peever:

At Cricket Australia our purpose is to unite and inspire communities through cricket. There’s no doubt that the ball-tampering incident in South Africa was extremely regrettable and caused distress across our country.

It has been a difficult and confronting time for everyone involved in Australian Cricket, and for that I am sorry. Mistakes have been made, lessons have been learnt, and changes are and will continue to take place.
Our response to the ball tampering incident was necessarily tough, and we acted swiftly and decisively. At the same time, we voluntarily commissioned an independent organisational review into Australian cricket and launched, concurrently, a player review to establish a renewed behavioural charter.
To help restore faith in what we do, today CA is releasing the review in full and publishing the players’ pact.
The organisational review, carried out by The Ethics Centre, is a summary of the views of 469 people representing a 58 per cent response rate. This included current and past players, CA and state and territory cricket associations, employees and board members, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, umpires, sponsors and media.
While at times difficult to read and in some instances, difficult to agree with what has been implied – CA respects the findings of the review and what needs to be done to restore faith and prompt change.
The review includes various assessments that inform 42 recommendations, and CA is already well advanced in some areas with more than half of the recommendations in development or already implemented before we commissioned the review.
Having considered the recommendations, CA is committing to enacting and exploring further the recommendations and actioning where appropriate.
The players review has resulted in a meaningful players’ pact. This project was carried out by Rick McCosker, with support from Peter Collins, George Bailey, Pat Cummins, Rachael Haynes, Tim Paine, Justin Langer and Shane Watson.
It’s important to note the Argus Report of 2011 into high performance has been diligently applied, however the opportunity for us all today is to ensure a greater focus on the game’s ethos and the spirit of cricket.
Our love of cricket is in our blood. That’s why today is an important step to continue to move cricket forward. We’ll continue to work with, and listen to employees, fans, players, partners and volunteers, to ensure we all shape Australian Cricket in a way that everyone can be proud of – with a unity of purpose like never before.
We can’t change the past, but we can mould the future of cricket in this country and ensure cricket remains Australia’s favourite sport, and a sport for all Australians.
​

 

[Burgey]

This will somehow come as a surprise to CA itself, but not to anyone else:

The 145-page report in CA’s culture, delivered by The Ethics Centre, has accused the organisation of being “arrogant” and “controlling”. CA has also found just as much to blame for the ball tampering scandal as those players already banned.

 

[the big bambino]

Blah blah blah. Just can the ban and make sure Warner never captains a side again and Smith only when you believe he has the stones to confront strong characters in his team and addresses his own problems with cheating.

 

[GotSpin]

Sounds like a big **** fest so far

 

[Starfighter]

Are the full reports available from anywhere?

 

[TheJediBrah]

41. Selectors be required to take into account a player’s character as well as their skills when picking teams

Exactly what we need. More excuses for the selectors to pick whoever the **** they want rather than the best players

 

[GotSpin]

Yeah that seems like bull**** to me

 

[Starfighter]

They've clearly got a bit to hide:

 

[Gnske]

I like the part where CA are now going to be developing their own ideology of ethics and allow fans to have even more say in what they do.

This is going to turn out well.

 

[Starfighter]

From the Oz:

[FONT=&quot]One of the most significant findings of this review is that the perceived causes of the ball-tampering incident at Newlands significantly overlap with the perceived current state of cricket in Australia[/FONT]

No **** Sherlock.

[FONT=&quot]They are desensitised by the logic of their arguments and the science that inform their practices. They believe they are clear-eyed realists and others are deluded ...[/FONT]

This comment is so applicable to so many different groups these days.

[FONT=&quot]Multiple instance of disrespect running through CA are cited,” the report notes ... people expressed dissatisfaction with CA’s decision-making processes and style. Relationships between CA and stakeholders are frequently described as ‘dictatorial’ and ‘not collaborative[/FONT]

Like, yeah, didn't see that one coming from a million miles away.

[FONT=&quot]He calls on the board to end its culture of secrecy and publish minutes of its meetings.[/FONT]

We can't even get meetings out of taxpayer funded government panels like, say, the Victoria motorcycle expert panel (against parliamentary recommendation), on real issues that affect peoples lives, no chance is a privately owned sporting organisation going to let go of the secrecy of their board meetings. Bureaucracies love and thrive on that ****. The fact we can't even view this full report should tell you as much. Besides, in this case it's be one of the less useful actions, it's not like they'd act on anything an outsider said anyway.

 

[Gnske]

I can see now why it was said that the review was hard reading. Worst possible graphic designs.

I find it very curious that the page that Starfighter has up there is in the section on "Players as Commodities."

 

[GotSpin]

Smart from James Sutherland to jump ship early

 

[stephen]

Page 52 off the report says that there were a significant increase in the number of breaches in the spirit of cricket - 13 in 2008/09 to 32 in 2017/18. Yet it fails to detail the number of occurrences in the in between years. Furthermore, it goes on to state that since August 2016 there were 11 offenses in international games and 8 of those were at Newlands. And that David Warner was the one with the most infringements followed by Steve Smith.

What it doesn't say is how many each of these two got.

And correct me if I'm wrong but 3 breaches in two years is hardly anything to be concerned with. Yeah the Newlands test needs to be looked at but the document painting this out as problematic is absurd.

It's not like a spirit of cricket breach is the end of the world, it's usually just a bowler getting a bit emotional that the umpire was blind or a batsman upset that they were given out lbw when they belted the cover off of it.

This whole report is another but of corporate nonsense designed to make the people in charge look like they're doing something. It's promoting a bunch of pious bull ****.

They just need to sit the hundred or so professional cricketers down and force them to watch an hour long CA speech about the spirit of cricket and tell them that if they mess up again they'll have to sit through another one. I can't imagine a torture more appropriate than having to sit through a corporate presentation on ethics. It'd certainly be enough to make me never want to mess up again.

 

[Burgey]

Langer must have known what was on the way with his "good bloke" comments.

Given the requirement to wave ostrich feathers over our opponents as they walk out to bat now, I expect the first test XI to be something like

Father Chris Riley
Rick McCosker
Dr Bob Brown
The Bondi Vet
Professor Chris O'Brien
Hawkie (c)
Gilly
That bird who developed the spray-on skin for burns victims
Paine (+)
Cummins
Max Walker

Edit: Mary McKillop (12th).

 

[Burgey]

And yes, I know Max Walker is dead, but that's how far back you have to go to find a good enough bloke to make the new XI.

 

[stephen]

And yes, I know Max Walker is dead, but that's how far back you have to go to find a good enough bloke to make the new XI.

Wait, when did Max Walker die?

 

[Starfighter]

Wait, when did Max Walker die?

Two years ago.



Underside of the rock look good?

 

[stephen]

Page 81 makes a punt that many on here have made before - the pathways programs are not the best way to develop players. The grade and state system should be doing that.

 

[stephen]

Two years ago.



Underside of the rock look good?

Mate it's a bit crowded down here but at least the sun can't get to me.