"Building a young team I think is where my skill set can be best utilised, so to come and have the opportunity to mould a young group is very exciting - I'm really honoured to be here." St Kilda, which finished on the bottom of the ladder in 2014, has the fifth-youngest playing group in the AFL behind GWS, Gold Coast, the Bulldogs and Brisbane. Cox enjoyed an 18-year first-class career in Australia and England, scoring 18,614 runs at the top of the order for Tasmania and Somerset. After retiring he combined a high-level administrative role at the Australian Institute of Sport with a five-year stint on the Australian selection panel. Mid-way through that stint, the 45-year-old left the AIS to take up the high-performance review at SA. Cox's six-year stint in that role abruptly ended in May after an investigation by Cricket Australia into alleged contracting breaches by Adelaide Strikers, of which Cox was also in charge.

CA's then newly formed integrity unit was probing suspicions BBL teams were not abiding by the official embargo in negotiating with players, even those already at their team, between February 7 and May 19. After CA presented SA with its draft finding, which showed Cox had discussed extending the contract of Jono Dean and signing Brad Hodge and Kieron Pollard, the SACA board sacked Cox. SACA's rationale was that Cox "failed to comply with the association's internal procedures and expectations in respect of his failure to disclose player recruitment negotiations carried out by him". SACA was fined $50,000 for the breach ($20,000 was suspended for three years) and Cox was barred from working with the Strikers - but only the Strikers - for this imminent BBL season. In the aftermath of the sacking, the Australian Cricketers' Association called for an amnesty, believing the actions Cox had been sacked for were rife throughout the competition. "There's a culture that's built up in the BBL that it's OK to play outside these contracting rules," then ACA chief executive Paul Marsh told ESPNcricinfo.

"Teams have been doing it since the first year and nothing's been done about it, and everyone knows it. You only have to look at day one of the contracting period, half the contracts get announced. How did that happen if they haven't already been in discussions and reached at least a verbal agreement before the day of the contracting period starting? "Everyone knows it's been going on. So what needs to happen, I believe, is an amnesty period so we come out and say 'Everyone bring forward your dirty laundry and say what happened in the first three years'. We put it all on the table and start with a clean slate. Anything that's not disclosed then, teams are liable to be sanctioned moving forward, but from this point the culture needs to shift to where everyone does play by the rules." Marsh's suspicions of widespread recontracting breaches were seemingly confirmed in September when three more teams were fined: Hobart ($20,000) for two breaches and one breach each for Brisbane ($10,000) and Sydney Sixers ($10,000). No team administrators were punished as a result of that subsequent investigation. Cox, recruited by ABC Radio as an expert commentator for the first Test, has publicly said little about his sacking, which is widely considered in cricket circles to have been harsh. In September he told Adelaide's The Advertiser he was keen to "be able to move on". "I had to come to the realisation that I was a young man, had to find something else to do. There was no point wallowing. I had to dust myself down, there was reality to deal with," Cox said. "I talked to people and realised this does happen. The support of family, people has been amazing. I am trying to get my life back in order. I hope I never have to think about this again."

On Tuesday, Cox said it was good to get a fresh start after his dramas with the SACA. "For mine, my next opportunity was really important to me and that's why I'm so grateful to have this one," he said. Cox, who has lived in Adelaide for the past six and a half years, will start work with the Saints on January 12. While Cox has never worked in football, he is said to enjoy the sport even more than cricket. The vacancy at St Kilda arose as a result of a restructure which involved the departure of head of football Chris Pelchen in October, after which a "comprehensive and exhaustive search" for a head of football performance began, according to St Kilda CEO Matt Finnis.

Finnis was thrilled with Cox's appointment and was confident he would successfully develop the club's "high performance culture".