Sporting events have been impacted by the pandemic massively. Cricket is no different. The safety of professionals and staff is the priority of the cricketing boards throughout the globe. Concerns around revenues have been emerging as the pre-planned fixtures stand postponed.
Reports have come from Australia where Cricket Australia was considering several measures to cope with the dwindling inflow of revenues. In a report published by Cricbuzz, it has been said that the calendar of senior men’s and women’s cricket won’t be impacted. The contemporary plans proposed by Cricket Australia for the financial year 2021 highlighted that seniors alongside domestic cricketing actions won’t be compromised.
Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup, and BBL will not lose out. However, the international tours of Australia A and CA XI will be paused for a while. The National Premier Cricket T20 and Second XI competitions will also suffer a pause. The operational restructuring was presented on Wednesday by Cricket Australia. It is learned that attempts of reducing costs up to AUD 40 million are underway. The fear seems to turn true as around 40 roles in administration shall cease to exist.
As per The Australian, batting coach Graeme Hick is one of the many released. The chairman of cricket Australia Earl Eddings said, on Wednesday, that “We recognize that this is a difficult time for Cricket Australia employees, particularly for those staff members affected by these redundancies and their families. However, our responsibility is clear: to navigate a path for cricket through this period of uncertainty and disruption to ensure we come out the other side sustainable in the short term and prosperous in the long term”.
The focus of restructuring, as evident, was the senior side. The men and women will continue to have a full-fledged season. Eminent domestic leagues including the women’s Big Bash league shall have a complete number of matches. Senior sides will have the resources and their mental and physical well-being shall be the top priority of the board in these tough times. Moreover, greater autonomy has been given to states and regions to develop players for the elite level.
This shall reduce the duplication costs. Non-essential costs including bonuses and advertising shall be curtailed too. “With increasing clarity about the impact of COVID-19, we have managed the financial impact on our organization, our people, our partners, and players. There will still be painful decisions for some parts of our organization, but Sheffiwe have worked hard to carefully develop plans to protect our investment in community cricket and high-performance cricket while ensuring the game’s financial sustainability,” Eddings said. CA recently appointed a new CEO in order to manage the demands of the current crisis effectively.
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