The longest-serving current member of the Cricket Australia (CA) board, Mark Taylor, former Australian skipper has expressed that this is the hight-time he should decide whether to “step up or step off” in the wake of the hard-hitting Longstaff Review into the culture of the game and the organization.
Announcing his resignation, Taylor said, “I had an opportunity at this time to put my name forward as a chairman or to step off. That’s where I got to, and I think I’ve made the right move in the interests of Australian cricket to step off and give hope a former player an opportunity to add some fresh ideas to this role as a director of Cricket Australia. Particularly since the release of the reviews and the fallout from that, my wife will tell you my sleep hasn’t been as good as it normally is. That to me was a sign that I needed to move on and, as I said, give someone else a go.”
On Sunday, Taylor criticised the Australian Cricketers’ Association as they demanded the exemptions for the banned players Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their role in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
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While justifying his comments, Taylor also said, “There’s no doubt that timing was regrettable. That’s the way to look at it I suppose. My role at Channel 9 has changed. I’m still a broadcaster but I’m also very loosely a reporter, which means I’ve got to give my opinion much more on things like what’s happening within the world of Cricket Australia rather than what is happening within the men’s and women’s cricket teams. That’s made my job even harder.”
After the Longstaff review, CA has been facing a huge matter of concerns and on the other hand, the national team is struggling register a win since But Taylor believes that after this decline of the board and the team, there is a great opportunity to reset the things.
CA interim chairman Earl Eddings thanked Taylor for his service, as he said, “It’s been an honor to have an icon of Australian cricket serving on the board of Cricket Australia, and our best wishes go to Mark. We thank him for his ongoing commitment and valuable insights to the game. While it has been a difficult few weeks for Australian cricket, the board of Cricket Australia and the executive team are committed to rebuilding and earning the trust of the cricket community.”
