Review to restore Australia’s reputation: press
SYDNEY: The Argus Review of Australian cricket, which threw out the national team’s management after the side’s humiliation in the Ashes series, was warmly welcomed by Australian media on Saturday.
Commentators were universally damning of the selection panel, the coaching setup and inept decision-making by Cricket Australia (CA), and backed the review’s findings.
Chief selector Andrew Hilditch and head coach Tim Nielsen were high-profile casualties after the sweeping review into Australian cricket was released on Friday, sparked by the team’s 3-1 Ashes defeat by England earlier this year.
Both men lost their jobs, along with fellow selector Greg Chappell, following the seven-month review headed by Don Argus, the former chief of mining giant BHP Billiton.
The Age columnist Greg Baum said Australian cricket will be run differently in the wake of the far-reaching review.
“The something that had to be seen to be done, can be seen to have been done. Heads have rolled and more will,” he said.
“Whatever your standpoint on the remedial measures — to make coach and captain selectors, for instance — it is clear that Australian cricket will now be run differently.
“But it does not finish there. The Argus report puts the players squarely in the gun. It notes ‘poor performances by the leading players’ and ‘poor basic skills generally’.”
The Age said a striking feature of the review was the dissatisfaction of players interviewed with the feedback they received from the selectors.
“Players who did speak to Hilditch often felt he had little grasp of their domestic performances; one experienced batsman was told he could enhance his prospects by opening the batting for his state, but had been doing just that for some time,” the newspaper said. The Australian newspaper said the review “clearly took aim at the role of selectors.”
Commentators were universally damning of the selection panel, the coaching setup and inept decision-making by Cricket Australia (CA), and backed the review’s findings.
Chief selector Andrew Hilditch and head coach Tim Nielsen were high-profile casualties after the sweeping review into Australian cricket was released on Friday, sparked by the team’s 3-1 Ashes defeat by England earlier this year.
Both men lost their jobs, along with fellow selector Greg Chappell, following the seven-month review headed by Don Argus, the former chief of mining giant BHP Billiton.
The Age columnist Greg Baum said Australian cricket will be run differently in the wake of the far-reaching review.
“The something that had to be seen to be done, can be seen to have been done. Heads have rolled and more will,” he said.
“Whatever your standpoint on the remedial measures — to make coach and captain selectors, for instance — it is clear that Australian cricket will now be run differently.
“But it does not finish there. The Argus report puts the players squarely in the gun. It notes ‘poor performances by the leading players’ and ‘poor basic skills generally’.”
The Age said a striking feature of the review was the dissatisfaction of players interviewed with the feedback they received from the selectors.
“Players who did speak to Hilditch often felt he had little grasp of their domestic performances; one experienced batsman was told he could enhance his prospects by opening the batting for his state, but had been doing just that for some time,” the newspaper said. The Australian newspaper said the review “clearly took aim at the role of selectors.”
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