Mark Taylor was the longest-serving director on Cricket Australia's board.GETTY IMAGES
Former Australia captain Mark Taylor resigned from Cricket Australia’s board of directors on Monday, "as the fallout from a scathing review into the governing body’s culture claimed another victim," according to Ian Ransom of REUTERS. Taylor’s resignation came four days after CA Chair David Peever stepped down. Taylor, the board’s longest-serving director, said that he had been "struggling to sleep soundly since the findings of the review were released a week ago." He was also fatigued after a "tumultuous 18 months in Australian cricket, featuring an acrimonious pay dispute with players last year and the ball-tampering crisis in South Africa in March." Taylor said, "Over the last 13 years, but particularly the last 18 months, there’s been a lot in this role as a director of Cricket Australia. And it’s taken its toll on me. Over the last two weeks, even more so. And I’ve got to the stage where I don’t think I can give any more. I’ve lost the energy and I think it’s time for someone to fill my shoes." Taylor is the third member of the CA board to quit in the last six months, following Peever and former director Bob Every. Taylor "hoped he could be replaced by a former player and suggested there was a good opportunity for a woman to take his role" on the "male-dominated board" (REUTERS, 11/4). In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported Taylor called for the "bloodletting" at CA to end "and the healing to begin." Behind the scenes, "there is an appetite among some for more blood." New CEO Kevin Roberts, the "frontman of the MOU dispute" and CA’s former head of people & culture, and CA High Performance Manager Pat Howard are "notable targets." Taylor, however, believes the game must "seize on an opportunity" to "reset" the relationships that have been damaged. He said, "It hurts me a lot. I don’t like it, I really don’t. For the sake of [interim chairman] Earl Eddings and the board going forward, I hope it stops with me" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 11/5).
