3 minute read

Queensland Cricket has confirmed its workforce will be reduced by 29 per cent as it prepares for a big drop in ticket sales and funding from Cricket Australia.

Queensland Cricket has cut almost a third of its workforce, becoming the latest state association to take drastic action in response to the sport's financial crisis.

The Queensland governing body has confirmed a restructure will wipe out 32 full-time jobs, equating to about 29 per cent of its staff.

The association's high-performance department will account for the biggest reduction.

Men's coach Wade Seccombe and women's mentor Ashley Noffke will become head of male and female performance respectively, taking on a bigger workload as part of the restructure.

Cricket Victoria recently cut 36 per cent of its workforce, while the South Australian Cricket Association and Cricket Tasmania also announced job losses amid the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vast majority of Cricket Australia staff have been stood down for the rest of the financial year as part of chief executive Kevin Roberts' cost-cutting mission, with many fearing redundancies are inevitable.

CA, having initially pushed to cut states' funding by 45 per cent amid fears head office will run out of money in August, is seeking to slash grants by 25 per cent.

Queensland Cricket and Cricket NSW remain the only states yet to sign off on the new arrangement, but the former noted in Monday's statement there had been an "acceptance of the inevitable 25 per cent decrease in grants from the national body".

Coupled with an imminent reduction in ticket sales for 2020-21, Queensland Cricket chief executive Terry Svenson suggested his organisation realised it needed to "act now".

"This has been an extremely challenging time and our thoughts are foremost with our employees, who have no doubt been living with a high level of uncertainty and anxiety," Svenson said in a statement.

"A lot of difficult decisions have been made and we continue to offer support for those employees whose roles have been made redundant.

"In some cases, we have offered employees the opportunity to take on cross-role responsibilities in talent identification, coaching and club support."

Roberts is confident India will arrive for this summer's Test series, which will deliver a boost of $300 million in broadcast revenue, but has warned that tour is no panacea for the various financial woes created by COVID-19.

A breakthrough in talks between CA and the players' union means states will soon release their contract lists, with players in the process of returning to pre-season training across Australia.