EX COACH PUSHES FOR FULL DISCLOSURE

FORMER Test coach John Buchanan believes Cricket Australia owes it to the public to release the full findings of its cultural review as the “winning bonus’’ era comes under attack.

Simon Longstaff’s Sydney Ethics Centre interviewed a vast array of cricket people for a review into Australian cricket which followed the ball-tampering affair in South Africa.

Cricket Australia board member Mark Taylor initially hinted the findings might not be made public but there has been a second thought that its credibility may rest on public disclosure and it is likely the report will be released in some form within a fortnight.

“For CA to win back support for everything, whether it be grassroots, sponsors and media, they have undertaken this review, and it needs to make an impact on the game and for that reasons it needs to be made as public as possible,’’ Buchanan said.

“They need to show people they are not just talking but they are going to so something and be accountable for that. That whole accountability is something that needs to be underlined going forward.’’

It is understood some players and officials spoke out strongly against the “win at all costs’’ nature which had permeated the team and said the introduction of winning bonuses in the 2012 memorandum of understanding was a mistake.

Some officials were known to mention that if a player needed bonuses to do their best for their country they should not be chosen in the first place.

Several players have traced the team’s recent fall from grace back to the Hobart Test in 2016-17 when Australia was hammered by South Africa for a fifth consecutive Test loss.

The nature of that defeat prompted Australia to seek a more abrasive playing edge and drop wicketkeeper Peter Nevill for the combative Matthew Wade, a decision many senior players objected to.

Some members of the Australian squad have claimed they felt pressured to play more aggressive, “in-your-face’’ cricket following the Hobart debacle.