Board wars: Blood in the water after damning review
Plus: The Week The Was and the Week That Will Be
A review into the dysfunction at Auckland Cricket board level could be the bucket of blood in the water that circling clubs with sharp teeth have been waiting for.
Following recent revelations that close to half the ACA board quit after the botched appointment for a director of performance and talent, a review has concluded that the process was marred by board over-reach and a culture of decision-making gridlock.
The review, carried out by Alan Isaac (CNZM), came to the conclusion that there were “a number of improvements that could be made to the governance of the ACA”.
Chief among them was improving the culture of the board.
“Key to this is a culture of mutual trust and respect for the individuals’ attributes that make up the whole,” Isaac wrote. “Group think is highly detrimental but chronic deadlock is almost as bad.”
Chairman Nick Albrecht, who last year survived a vote of no confidence, said: “His observations are correct. We can’t push back on that.”
Albrecht said that while he expects the review will be used as ammunition by his detractors, there was a genuine chance to change the culture with three new board members being sought.
“There’s a real opportunity now to improve what we need to improve and to build on the good things we have done,” Albrecht said.
Auckland cricket has been riven by club jealousies, board spats and a belief by many that cricket in the city is underperforming from both a high-performance and commercial perspective at a time when the sport is at an all-time high nationwide, due in large part to the unprecedented success of the flagship Black Caps.
Over the past couple of months some club delegates have started talking about pressing New Zealand Cricket to use a “nuclear option” to disestablish the board and start again. It is understood that it is highly unlikely as the national body has shown little inclination to get involved with major association politics, and such a move might not even be constitutionally possible.
Isaac’s review, however, is likely to generate more heat from dissenting clubs.
In his findings, Isaac said the appointment of a director of cricket should have been the realm of CEO Iain Laxon and the relevant department head, with the board becoming involved only at the sign-off stage.
Reading between the lines, Isaac indicated that the board’s appointment subcommittee had effectively tried to sideline Laxon from the process.
“There is no need for the board’s involvement until the preferred candidate stage, (ie, this limits the number of people involved to best ensure confidentiality and efficiency of decision making.”
The controversy arose when a board sub-committee agreed a preferred candidate, only for doubts to arise, initially articulated in an email by Laxon to stakeholders. Some of the doubts centred on the absence of NZC’s high-performance manager Bryan Stronach from the second round of interviews.
The subcommittee’s preferred candidate’s confidentiality was subsequently breached and he removed himself from the process, with three board members - Paula Gruber, Chris Glackin and Brett Hollister - resigning as a result of how it was handled.
Daniel Archer, recruited from Northern Districts, was eventually appointed.
“The review identified flaws in the recruitment process that did not align to best practice,” a release from Auckland Cricket stated, “and made recommendations that would assist from a governance perspective.”
The recommendations included (but were not limited to): establishing detailed understanding of required director skills to aid board recruitment processes; ensuring well-defined board operating procedures; reappraising the conflicts of interests register; and ensuring that board involvement in any recruitment process be limited to the final interview and appointment phases.
What the release doesn’t say is that the very process to appoint a reviewer was a huge bone of contention.
The review was initially handed to prominent lawyer and sports administrator Don Mackinnon. However, many key individuals declined to meet with him - Hollister, Glackin and Gruber, and Ant Strachan, who himself reviewed Auckland’s high-performance operation last year. It is believed some were reluctant because of concerns that Mackinnon’s friendship with current board member Brendon Gibson could colour the review.
One source told The Bounce that it was “crazy” that anybody thought appointing Mackinnon was a good idea, because no matter how straight he played it, there would always be the perception of bias.
Mackinnon had disclosed his friendship with Gibson and “strong working relationship with [NZC high-performance manager] Bryan Stronach” in an email to key people.
Mackinnon pulled out on August 17 when the situation became untenable and former ICC chairman Isaac was subbed in.
Auckland Cricket’s release pointed to administrative progress that had been made in recent times.
“The board would like to highlight the significant progress that has been made in recent times with the creation of a new strategy that aspires to build a new home for Auckland Cricket, the restructure and increased investment into our high-performance systems, and the continued support of our club system through Covid interruptions.”
It is progress unlikely to sate those clubs that want to see the whole thing blown up and started again.
THE WEEK THAT WAS…
Classic 12-man footy
Straight from the “just what the world didn’t know it needed” files is the launch of the World 12s, a pared-down rugby product set to be launched in England in August next year, with a women’s tournament launching in 2023. Lopping numbers off teams and calling it a bold innovation is nothing new and rugby has done it successfully in the past - you might have heard of sevens, for example - but this one aims to have the world’s best players being auctioned off, IPL style, and that was a comparison chairman Ian Ritchie was keen to play up. What Ritchie and his high-profile backers including Steve Hansen, Jake White and Steve Tew seem to be missing is the appeal of T20 cricket is that it is 11-a side cricket: it is the length of the match that has been disrupted, not the very nature of the sport itself.
Biennial World Cup
Another from the above file, this has also been greeted with scepticism (and in some cases hostility) but I’d suggest Arsene Wenger’s grand plan of having World Cups every two years has far more chance of surviving and thriving than 12-man rugby. Is it a good idea? Probably not. Will it make some influential people a lot of money? Yes, it will. Draw your own conclusion, then, as to whether it will happen.
Warriors finally get their timing right
I missed the Warriors final round white-flag raising against the Titans but I’m led to believe it was an 80-minute lowlight package that deserved intense scrutiny, particularly around some extremely dubious recruitment decisions. Pretty clever then, for the club to drop the news that they’ll be spending another year away from home in 2022. Sympathy is a far easier ‘athy’ to work with than the one starting with ‘antip’.
Free Jordie
My thought process on the Jordie Barrett blow-up went something like this: That’s a ludicrous decision! That’s probably the only decision they could make. Thank goodness a red card no longer means a red card. Surely he won’t get more than two weeks for that. What, he got nothing?! So it should never have been a red card, then? I knew it was a ludicrous decision all along! Rugby hot takes come at you fast.
Hard yakka in Dhaka
One of the worst T20 cricket series in history developed its own gruesome rhythm that, counter-intuitively, has made it a must watch. Here is the series that concludes tonight summed up in a meme.
… AND THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
The Rugby Championship continues at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast with a double-header. There is plenty of intrigue in the Brodie Retallick-led All Blacks against Argentina (starts 7.05pm), not least a chance for the ex-Hurricanes halves combo of TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett to reconnect, but if I’m being honest, the second game on the bill holds more interest. Dave Rennie and the Wallabies really need a win.
Australia v South Africa, Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast, Sunday 10.05pm, Sky Sport
For many, week one of the NRL playoffs is the greatest weekend of the year. Four high-intensity games, with two teams eliminated at the end of it. It has felt like the bulk of the week has been spent picking over the carcasses of the likes of the Wests Tigers and Warriors, so attention now pivots to the good teams. The best match-up is probably tonight’s match between Melbourne and manly, while the least appealing is the early game tomorrow between two teams I find unlovable for different reasons, the Roosters and Gold Coast. I will have half an eye on Parramatta and Newcastle, but if I have to choose one to watch, it’s the one involving Ivan Cleary.
Penrith v Souths, QCB Stadium, Townsville, tomorrow 9.50pm, Sky Sport
There’s a heap of cricket, including the conclusion to the New Zealand-Bangladesh grind. The White Ferns have a week’s one-day prep following their thrilling, restorative T20 2-1 series loss to England, but I’m going to point you in the direction of Ye Olde Country anyway, as one of the more dramatic test series in recent years reaches its conclusion.
England v India, Old Trafford, Friday-Tuesday, starts 10pm, Spark Sport
The NFL started today with last year’s Super Bowl champs Tampa Bay Buccaneers - led by the ageless GOAT, Tom Brady - up against perennial underachievers the Dallas Cowboys. If you missed that and you’re an early riser, there’s a classic Rust Belt clash to look forward to.
Pittsburgh Steelers v Buffalo Bills, Monday 5am, ESPN
The penultimate weekend of the AFL season sees a semifinal lineup that would have been mostly unthinkable five years ago. Tomorrow the Western Bulldogs play Port Adelaide in a beauty of a blue-collar match-up but all my attention is on tonight and whether the Demons can move one step closer to ending 57 years of hurt.
Melbourne v Geelong, Optus Stadium, Perth, tonight 9.50pm, Sky
The niggly football international window is over but it’s not a great slate of Premier League matches. Leicester v Manchester City and Leeds v Liverpool have some appeal, but let’s be serious, the major focus will be on first whether and, if so, how Cristiano Ronaldo plays on his return to Manchester United.
Manchester United v Newcastle, Old Trafford, Sunday 2am, Spark Sport
Conventional wisdom suggests that the only person standing in the way of Covidiot Novak Djokovic’s bid for a grand slam is Alexander Zverev in tomorrow’s US Open semifinal. More intriguing, however, is the women’s final, a match-up beyond improbable.
Leylah Fernandez v Emma Raducanu, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Sunday 8am, Sky