Jailhouse Blues

PL on an eventful three days at NSW's cricket

New NSW coach Brad Haddin on Wednesday

It’s been anything but uneventful out at the Silverwater jail ground where NSW played out its last game against Western Australia. It could even be suggested that things are possibly a little more harmonious inside the prison walls than they had been at the neighbouring cricket facility.

On Monday, the third day of the Shield match, the usually mild-mannered Cameron Green put on one of the more concerning displays seen by an Australian cricketer in recent times, but one that was not all that surprising to those who’ve been dealing with an Australian dressing room that has become increasingly sensitive to criticism.

On the same day, as the match played out, a conga line of Cricket NSW directors was subject to a spirited assessment of current events as they filed in for a board meeting in which the fate of a number of assistant coaches was confirmed, and Brad Haddin’s appointment as head coach was made official.

If anyone was going to let the NSW board know what they thought, it was going to be former player Steve O’Keefe.

During the board meeting, axed coach, Greg Shipperd was seen walking past the board room with the Dean Jones trophy the ODI side had recently won, the outgoing coach transferring it between his office and dressing room where he was set to use it as a motivational prop on the last day of the match, which was also the last day of his tenure, and the last day of at least two of his assistant’s tenure.