In other recall news, Matthew Hayden is to join the board of Cricket Australia, bringing the experience of 103 Tests and numberless unintelligible press conferences. ‘The game is definitely at the coalface of anticipated change,’ he says, coalfaces being well known for their state of constant flux. ‘What I can bring to the table is a real currency and a slightly more contemporary style of looking at the way cricket and the business of cricket is managed and maintained.’ Real currency? Is he talking about his IPL moolah? How big a table will be required?
What Haydos certainly brings is a certain swagger, now corporate rather than cricket:
Strategically it’s really important to recognise that iconic series such as the Ashes can never be removed, and in fact need to be protected and maintained, throughout the cricketing landscape. At a time when the market is looking to find new ways to engage our sport I think it’s also really important to go on a journey and go on a debate and recognise that we have got something very special in the creation of franchise cricket and the globalisation of those brands.
Giles Clarke had better look to his laurels. Haydos sounds like he could management-babble anyone under the table.