Former Australian opener Simon Katich says outgoing national talent manager and selector Greg Chappell should stand aside immediately rather than see out his contract that runs until the end of the Ashes.
Cricket Australia announced on Saturday that Chappell, the former Australian captain, had informed them he would retire after the upcoming Ashes series.
Pulling stumps: Greg Chappell will retire as a selector and talent manager after a long career.Credit:AAP
Chappell has been involved with Australian cricket’s governing body for more than 30 years in various roles and currently sits on a national selection panel alongside Trevor Hohns and head coach Justin Langer.
The 70-year-old is retiring from the role but will remain in the job for at least another half a year given his contract expires at the conclusion of the Ashes, in the middle of September.
Chappell and his selection panel have been widely criticised recently for a number of questionable decisions this summer and over the past few years.
Last month Hohns conceded changes might need to be made to the three-man panel and said that everything was up for review. A different structure to the selection panel is a real possibility and the notion of giving a coach more final say has been touted.
While no replacement for Chappell has been announced – or decided on for that matter – Katich believes it is best that the 87-Test legend of Australian cricket finish his tenure right away.
“When you know someone is going to shut up shop and finish up then this six-month waiting period – it's probably a lost opportunity to move forward,” Katich said on SEN Radio. “Australian cricket has been through so much in the last nine months. It's hard to move forward in those important roles when you've still got the past there.
“It's almost in a way similar to what happened with Pat Howard.”
Howard, who served as Cricket Australia’s high performance manager, announced last year he planned on leaving his position after the Ashes but in the wake of the damning Longstaff Review, new chief executive Kevin Roberts decided the former Wallaby’s time was up, sacking him in November.
A replacement for Howard has not been named yet. Belinda Clark is taking over the role in an interim capacity.
With selections under the microscope more than ever ahead of a World Cup and Ashes series, Katich has taken the view that it would be better to get a fresh set of eyes into the panel now.
“[Chappell’s] opinions and views might be totally different to the next people they're looking at to bring in,” Katich said. “Do we have to sit and wait for another six months with those same views he's going to have? They have been strong over a number of years in the game, are we going to keep going down that same track?”
Chappell, one of the greats of Australian cricket, had three stints as a selector from 1984-88, 2010-11 and since 2016.
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