15 November, 2016. 13:34

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

CRICKET AUSTRALIA CEO JAMES Sutherland has dismissed suggestion that his organisation is broken at a fundamental level, saying that the rotation and reward policy had nothing to do with the series loss to South Africa this afternoon.

Rather than take an introspective look into Cricket Australia, Sutherland has pointed the finger at his underperforming players.

“We’ve been resting players, rotating them around to keep them fresh. We’ve given them the best support staff in the world – and they still get flogged. It’s not the board’s failure, it’s the players themselves who should shoulder the blame.” said Sutherland.

“Any suggestion that the defeat has got anything to do with our policies is slander and we’ll consult our legal team about how to approach such an event.”

Fujitsu ambassador and former Test captain Mark Taylor has tentatively backed up the claims made by Sutherland this afternoon, saying that players used to get rested all the time under his captaincy.

The Narrandera-native said there’s nothing better than rotating players when you’re trying to build a team.

“The only thing I can think of that works better is a John Buchanan-style bootcamp – where you make senior players, you know, like spin bowlers and ageing middle-order batsmen carry jerrycans full of water up and down sand dunes. That’s a great team building exercise,” said Taylor.

“But yeah, James Sutherland and the board are going a great job and all that shit.”

Under siege captain Steve Smith has admitted that it was the players who let everybody down, explaining that he doesn’t want to upset the board and be rested for the next game.

“Playing Test Cricket [board game] and Ricky Ponting 2005 probably isn’t the best preparation you can do for a game of cricket, but here we are.” said Smith.

“James Sutherland is the greatest Australian that has ever lived. He should be prime minister.”