Aussie board offers Warne olive branch

The Cricket Australia (CA) board has, unsurprisingly, backed its contentious selection and player management policies and welcomed its biggest critic, Shane Warne, back into the fold.

The CA board yesterday gave its ‘‘unequivocal support’’ to the team performance division’s controversial methods. It believes it is already proving a success.

General manager of team performance Pat Howard and chief selector John Inverarity addressed the board of directors in Melbourne.

Chairman Wally Edwards said he was convinced of the merits of the policies, formulated after the release of the Argus report 18 months ago, which aimed for a return to the No 1 ranking within four years.

‘‘To build a new cricket side is a long-term thing . . . I’m confident we’re on the right track,’’ Edwards said. ‘‘They explained to us that they are seeking to build sustained success over the long term.

‘‘They noted that since the appointment of the current team performance leadership group, Australia has played 15 tests, of which we’ve won 10; we’ve lost two and had three very creditable draws. In that time, Australia has moved from fifth to third on the world test rankings.

‘‘The CA board unequivocally supports the strategy and endorses the high-performance team led by Pat Howard as they work to implement the Argus strategy.’’

Edwards said players could not perform at their best playing every day of the year in three forms of the game and a crowded calendar.

He rebutted a claim the ‘‘rotation policy’’ cheapened national representation, saying it gave more talented players opportunities to showcase their skills.

Former great Warne has described the policies as a joke and the people implementing them as ‘‘muppets’’.

Yesterday, he released the second instalment of his manifesto for reinvigorating the game and the national team, calling again for selectors to do away with the controversial rotation policy and name the best available side for each match.

CA chief executive James Sutherland said he had a ‘‘robust discussion’’ with the spin king at the weekend and had invited him to work with Australia’s spinners.

‘‘There’s no doubt about his passion and enthusiasm for [the] Australian cricket team to be successful. Hopefully, there are opportunities for him down the track to be closer to us and have an even greater involvement. I wouldn’t want to pre-empt when those opportunities may be . . . he has a very busy schedule.’’