Melbourne, June 17 (IANS) Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday detailed a program of operational changes that, according to them, will deliver significant savings in response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation while ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of the game.
According to the official CA statement, 40 more jobs would be lost, taking the total tally to 200 since the crisis began in March. The Australian cricket board has also slashed 40 million dollars from its annual budget.
“The amended FY21 plan presented to staff today identifies cost reductions of approximately $40 million a year to partly mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on revenue and other factors such as biosecurity costs and match attendances,” the statement said.
“Regrettably, the plan includes a reduction of 40 roles. The positive impact of the Job Keeper program and an increasingly improved outlook for the season ahead have been recent factors considered in arriving at this final number.”
The domestic season, however, remains safe for now as CA is planning to go ahead with Marsh Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup ‘in their current formats’. Meanwhile, the Big Bash League and Women’s Big Bash League also remain unscathed as the board stated the usual number of matches will be played next season.
“Throughout COVID-19, the need to work closely with the cricket community and to move quickly as circumstances have changed has never been more important,” CA chairman Earl Eddings said.
“With increasing clarity about the impact of COVID-19, we have managed the financial impact on our organisation, our people, our partners and players.
“There will still be painful decisions for some parts of our organisation, but we 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.”
On Tuesday, CA appointed Nick Hockley as its interim Chief Executive following the resignation of Kevin Roberts. Hockley is currently the Chief Executive of the ICC T20 World Cup and also oversaw the conduct of the women’s edition of the tournament earlier this year.
–IANS
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