CA board replaces Roberts in shake-up

CRICKET Australia will soon detail widespread staff cuts after axing Kevin Roberts as chief executive.

Roberts departs amid acrimony over his handling of staff stand-downs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Nick Hockley, chief executive of the Twenty20 World Cup, replaces Roberts as interim chief executive.

CA chairman Earl Eddings is in the process of informing staff of their futures, with 200 people stood down on 20 per cent pay since April.

“No doubt, they’re hurting,” Eddings said yesterday. “It’s a necessary thing for us to be able to cut the costs of our organisation . . . we are not through the crisis yet.”

He hoped to publicly detail the range of staff cuts today, a day after removing Roberts as chief executive.

Roberts, who had 18 months to run on his contract, becomes the third CEO of a major Australian sporting code to exit during the coronavirus crisis, after Todd Greenberg (NRL) and Raelene Castle ( Rugby Australia).

“It’s challenging times and all the things we have had to do going forward requires a new style of leadership . . . now it’s time for a significant shift,” Eddings said.

CA’s board was frustrated by Roberts’s handling of the financial fallout caused by the pandemic, with Eddings conceding communication failures. “We could have done our communication better ... it could have been clearer and more concise,” he said.

Roberts was given the top job in October 2018 after James Sutherland’s 17-year tenure.

Hockley, an Englishman who leads the T20 World Cup organising committee, was noncommittal about seeking the role on a permanent basis.