Belinda Clark during the Allan Border awards
Ex-national women's captain Belinda Clark has been appointed interim head of Cricket Australia's high-performance unit while two other executives will leave in yet more changes to sport's domestic hierarchy in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal.
Former chairman David Peever quit last week after a highly-critical report into the governance of Cricket Australia. It found CA shared some blame for the culture that led to the ball-tampering attempt in a test against South Africa at Cape Town in March.
On Wednesday, new chief executive Kevin Roberts said high-performance manager Pat Howard and Ben Amarfio, general manager for broadcast, digital media and commercial, would leave.
Howard had already indicated he planned to leave when his contract expired after the 2019 Ashes, but instead, Roberts said Howard will leave next week. Amarfio has already left CA.
On Monday, ex-test captain Mark Taylor quit as a director of Cricket Australia after more than 13 years, the latest in the revolving door of changes.
The Cape Town ball-tampering scandal prompted an overhaul which saw national coach Darren Lehmann and chief executive James Sutherland leave Cricket Australia. Test captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned from international or first-class cricket for 12 months and opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months after the clumsy attempt to change the condition of the ball during the game was captured by TV cameras.
"It is clear that we need to deepen our relationships with fans, players and the broader cricket community," Roberts said in a statement Wednesday. "Everyone at CA is focused on rebuilding and moving forward after what has been a turbulent year."
Peever and Taylor must be replaced on the CA board, and Clark, who played for Australia from 1991 to 2005, has been touted as a potential candidate. Clark became the first female player inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2014.
