Simon Longstaff has been appointed the first-ever Ethics Commissioner by Cricket Australia to oversee administration and player accountibility.
Longstaff had lambasted the board’s culture in a review and offered 42 recommendations to overcome those flaws. Four years after his report, CA confirmed Simon Longstaff in the role with his “pivotal involvement” in the review making him an ideal candidate for the job.
Setting up an ethics commission was the very first recommendation of Longstaff’s 2018 review in order to hold administrators, players and staff accountable to the “ethical foundations for the game as played in Australia”.
Cricket Australia, in its response to the review, said it supported the recommendation and would appoint an independent ethics commissioner with direct access to the chair and board.
Although CA has implemented most of the 42 recommendations, many still feel that the board has dropped the ball with several ill-received decisions.
Their decision not to award a new long-term contract to former coach Justin Langer who led Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup triumph was met with criticism by payers and pundits alike.
Langer resigned in protest with Andrew McDonald replacing him in the role.
The Board also drew the ire of many after former test captain Tim Paine escaped punishment in 2018 for sending explicit messages to a former Cricket Tasmania staffer before the issue came to light and Paine was made to step down from the role.
“The CA board and our state and territory colleagues are committed to improving governance structures in cricket and the ethics commissioner will provide a vital reference point for issues that impact CA and the game more broadly,” CA chair Lachlan Henderson said in a statement.
“Having led the 2018 review, Dr Longstaff has a detailed understanding of the challenges the game has faced and the progress that has been made in recent times.
“We look forward to working with him for the betterment of cricket.”
