Last month, Nick Hockley was confirmed as Cricket Australia's permanent CEO, joining the role after the departure of Kevin Roberts, a year after the sport was trying to navigate Covid-19. He recently sat down with ESPNcricinfo to reflect on the past 12 months and look at the challenges and opportunities in the sport.
What were your thoughts when you arrived in the midst of a once in a hundred years crisis?
Truth be told, I didn't have much time to think about it. At that time, I was dealing with the situation around the Men's T20 World Cup, so I was definitely right on all the issues related to COVID. As I said at the time, it was a complete surprise, quite a shock. Not sure if we talk too much, but I was probably like a rabbit in the headlights. The situation in which we found ourselves definitely focuses the mind. Very quickly, we established four priorities: getting the CA team back to work, delivering safely over the summer, delivering for our partners, and then bringing the game together, whether it's states and territories or players' associations . Think that's one feature of last summer that we all pulled together had a hand in delivering the season and hopefully it makes us stand firm to come out of this situation.
There was uncertainty and tension throughout the season, perhaps one of the more visible moments was how the India Test series would end in terms of venues. Was there ever a moment where you had to be strong about how it would play out?
It was a very uncertain time. We took our time in decision making very well. It was an every single day affair; I remember tuning in to the New South Wales press conference at 11am [to see the latest COVID-19 numbers]. Throughout the summer our intention was always to play the series as scheduled and that was really because the lens we looked at from the very beginning was the cricket public. There were times when there were calls to stay in Melbourne, but we could not deprive the public of NSW, who were suffering from the state of North Beaches through no fault of their own. Similarly, the notion that we will not walk to Brisbane, we cannot deprive that public of it. But, by that stage of the season, what was most enjoyable was that we had relationships with all the courts, we had very solid bio-security plans, and all came together - including BCCI. The result which was not so pleasant, was but epic for a Test series to come to the last 20 minutes.
You put a figure of A$50 million on the cost of COVID-19 last summer. Hopefully the 2021-22 season will be easy, but how much can the game absorb?
For the moment, we are hoping for the best but planning for the worst. Border closures are planned to continue, but we hope that come summer, provided there is no case in the community, that we will be able to have more freedom of movement and players will have more freedom. Equally, we now have the intellectual property and ties if we need to move fast enough to implement contingency plans. I definitely feel for Winter Code; Interruption is extremely costly. Perhaps the big difference for cricket compared to winter domestic competitions is the number of international teams that come in. Last year, we had two teams, this year we are bringing in six teams. Establishing a mandatory two-week quarantine and training facilities so that players can train to come out in a fit condition to play, which comes at a cost and is desperately needed. Complicated. It needs the support of the government at every level. It's probably the biggest summer here in sporting history; In general, the Ashes are a high-revenue year that tends to offset costs in some way, but the extent of the cost consequences depends largely on the situation as it unfolds.
Now that you don't have "interim" next to your name, are there any areas you want to focus on in particular?
What Kovid has done is to highlight where the potential lies in the game as a whole. We were banned from traveling, so a large part of our workforce had to stay at home for the season and it showed that while we could work remotely, we could work collectively in state and regional associations So one should definitely take that agility and efficiency. And what I've talked about very enthusiastically over time is making sure that we're playing the most inclusive sport that we can be, we continue to invest and not take a step backwards. . I am excited that we have two multi-format series for the leading women's team at the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Think we've seen a really rich talent pipeline through WBBL, but it's making sure we're very inclusive throughout the route and across the game to make sure it's truly representative of contemporary multicultural Australia. We are also really gearing up around the postponed Men's T20 World Cup in 2022, which I think is a really important event. Just like the Women's World Cup was a great opportunity to change the game from a gender perspective, the Men's World Cup is a great opportunity to build relationships with expatriate communities across Australia.
How do you think Australian cricket has dealt with the broader social issues – racism, diversity, inclusion – that have been at the forefront of the world over the past year?
We have made great progress. Our vision is to be a sport for all Australians. For example, if you take our reconciliation action plan, we have increased indigenous partnerships tenfold in eight years, we have some great role models. We all do great in our abilities, but are we as a sport really representative of the community we serve? not now. And we won't rest as long as we are. We have made massive progress from a gender perspective. The happenings in England especially in the last few weeks [around the historical tweets] only serve to emphasize the role of sport and the public holding the game to a very high account and we have a real leadership role to play is. We must continue to work to ensure that sport represents the very best of the community. This means being respectful to everyone and making sure they feel like they belong.
One of the key things on the horizon is the next MoU on how players are paid. Do you expect it to be easier than last time?
Absolutely. When you step back, the whole game is aligned with the desire to make cricket as strong as possible and continue to grow. Both the players and the administration have a big hand in this. While we haven't been able to spend as much time face-to-face because people are in bubbles, we have had to work more closely than ever. We're having constructive discussions about what's important, what are the things that are really going to move the game forward and how the playing group contributes, but also how we support players in their careers. can give. The other thing I would say is I think the MoU has stood out well during Covid because it's self-improvement if we have a revenue impact.
Can you update us on the status with Channel Seven?
We are deep in talks to plan the upcoming season. The discussions we have had have been really constructive. We've had some very honest conversations about the challenges of the past 12 months that were documented publicly, but of course the latest meetings are about how we work together to make what's going on. It's going to be a big summer. We are working through some innovations and ensuring how WBBL and BBL are truly relevant to the contemporary youth audience and deliver on our promise of attracting a new audience to the sport.
Now what do you understand by the next ICC calendar with global events played every year?
I think it's really exciting that there are more World Cup opportunities for more countries. I firmly believe that only more people playing cricket at the elite level can be good for the health of the sport. It is exciting that we have got an extended T20 World Cup but equally there are more opportunities to play the [one-day] World Cup. I believe formats are intertwined and think that if countries can only play T20s at the world level, they are missing out on core skills for longer formats. The ability to host some of those major world events in emerging markets is exciting; They will not be limited to just traditional countries.
The health of the sport in Australia is much more than just the two main national teams, but they are the most visible part of the game. How will you judge where they stand?
The Australia women's team is remarkable. This summer they will be aiming to get a monkey off their back - I was in the derby for the [50-over World Cup] semi-final against India in 2017 and I learned how sad it was from talking to the captain and coach. Looks like they are as hungry as ever and they are also very excited about the Commonwealth Games. What's especially exciting is the young talent, some great young leaders, challenging them to a very settled side.
On the men's side, this is a really big moment. By their own admission, they were extremely disappointed about the previous home summer, especially after their previous home loss against India. I know firsthand how devastated the players were when we were unable to tour South Africa. It was reassuring to see that despair, they just wanted to get back on the horse, so hungry in huge quantities. There is no better opportunity than this upcoming summer to fulfill your potential as a side.
How is the relationship with Cricket South Africa now?
We've had a lot of constructive discussions about how we move forward and how we prepare for those postponed tours. South Africa were due to tour here this summer [for white-ball matches] according to the FTP, but are unable to do so due to logistics around the quarantine. All the latest discussions have been thoroughly constructive and, as we said, we are committed to rescheduling that tour as soon as it is safe to do so as it fits into a future schedule.
Did the return of the Newlands scandal that hit the headlines recently surprised you?
This really surprised me. What it did, it brought back a real strength of feeling. It brought back a lot of pain, but it also made us reflect that it always will be. We forget the lessons of that time at our own peril. The team's progress over time under the new leadership has been phenomenal, they have really kept the culture and how they play completely at the core. Especially going into the domestic heat that we've got, it's better to accept that it's there and think about how the group comes together and what they want to remember rather than forgetting about it. I had several talks on this subject and went back and re-studied the events of that time. We should never forget those lessons.