Trolling act as coaches sacked on the spot

Outgoing Blues coach Greg Shipperd has taken a cheeky parting jab at the Cricket NSW Board ahead of his exit from the organisation, parading the Dean Jones Trophy outside the room where a leading candidate to replace him was interviewing for the job.

Last week, New South Wales defeated Tasmania in a rain-affected One-Day Cup final in Hobart, with the Blues winning their first title in five years.

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The triumph came six weeks after Cricket NSW announced it would part ways with Shipperd at the end of the season, despite the veteran coach being contracted with the Blues and Sydney Sixers through to the end of 2026/27.

“Decisions to change key personnel are never easy, but we felt it was time to move in a new direction to give the Blues and Sixers the best chance to win titles,” Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon said in a statement in January.

Shipperd declared he was “incredibly disappointed” with the decision at the time, while former NSW and Sixers spinner Steve O’Keefe called it an “absolute disgrace”.

Fox Cricket understands that former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, a leading contender to replace Shipperd next summer, presented to the Cricket NSW Board for the coaching gig at Silverwater’s Cricket Central on Monday evening, upstairs from where the Blues were playing a Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia.

The SMH reports Haddin has won the race for the job with Cricket NSW set to make an announcement on Wednesday.

According to the report, Shipperd’s top lieutenants Ali de Winter and Shawn Bradstreet were informed they had been sacked during the final day of the match with Cricket NSW cleaning house.

According to a source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, Shipperd walked past the room’s glass panel holding the Dean Jones Trophy on multiple occasions during Haddin’s presentation.

He was also seen entering the NSW changeroom with the trophy on Tuesday morning, his final day in charge of the Blues.

Cricket NSW declined to comment when contacted by Fox Cricket.

Shipperd took charge of the Sixers in 2015, with the men in magenta qualifying for the Big Bash League finals for eight consecutive seasons under his guidance, winning two titles during that period. This summer, the Sixers progressed to the BBL final but lost the decider to the Perth Scorchers.

However, before last week’s One-Day Cup finals, the Blues hadn’t won any silverware since the 69-year-old replaced Phil Jacques as state coach in 2022. NSW also failed to qualify for this summer’s Sheffield Shield final, having won two of their nine completed matches.

Speaking to Fox Sports News last week, Shipperd revealed that negotiations regarding the circumstances of his termination were ongoing, adding that he wanted to remain involved in cricket after he finished with the Blues.

“It was a two-year contract from my point of view, and it hasn’t been held up,“ he said.

“We’re still negotiating around termination packages – I hope that doesn’t get messy.”

The Blues celebrated their One-Day Cup triumph at a Hobart karaoke bar on Wednesday evening, with the departing coach belting out Elton John’s ‘I’m Still Standing’.

The song’s lyrics include: “And did you think this fool could never win? Well, look at me, I’m coming back again.”

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