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National coach Justin Langer says there will be disastrous outcomes if Cricket Australia and its stakeholders do not come together.
Justin Langer has urged Australia's fractured cricket community to smoke the peace pipe and avert disaster as he embraces a brave new high-performance world.
National coach Langer has worked tirelessly to help rebuild Cricket Australia's image and culture since the Cape Town cheating scandal in 2018.
But a tumultuous chapter has opened up many old wounds, with state associations and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) among those unhappy at CA's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kevin Roberts was removed as CA chief executive this week, while batting coach Graeme Hick was among 40 staff cut on Wednesday as part of a restructure that will force Langer to work harder than ever before.
The tradition of having a selector on deck for every single tour may soon end, while Langer admitted CA will need to get creative as it seeks to trim the number of travelling support staff and go "back to the past a little bit".
Langer, renowned for his stoicism in a 105-Test career, suggested breaking the bad news to Hick was like "facing Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh without a helmet and a box".
The former opener, whose stint as a full-time coach on part-time pay will end at the end of this month, added he was sad to see Roberts go and that it hurt to see cricket's stakeholders squabbling.
"If everyone's going in the same direction it's very powerful, you can create miracles," Langer told reporters.
"When it's splintered or we're not going in the same direction, it's disastrous.
"I'm very hopeful we can come together.
"From the board to the CEO to the senior managers ... the ACA, states and territories.
"It will take some real diplomacy skills, some great leadership. It's really important."
Chairman Earl Eddings and interim chief executive Nick Hockley will be keen to rapidly repair CA's relationships with the ACA and state associations, both of which have questioned the governing body's financial forecasts.
Langer's short-term focus is more clouded.
Australia are scheduled to host an ODI series against Zimbabwe in August.
It is possible that series will be delayed and their COVID-19 comeback will instead be a limited-overs tour of England, which itself is yet to be rubber stamped because of the health crisis.
"I'd imagine it's really important for English cricket that the Australian cricket team goes there if we can. But it's not as simple as that," Langer said.
"There's so many moving parts.
"We'll keep living through that philosophy that we always stay ready."
Langer vowed to adapt to a burgeoning workload, noting "we're very lucky we've got very competent people that I work with" and "nobody could ever criticise me for not wanting to roll my sleeves up".
