Howard joined Cricket Australia from rugby union and introduced workload management to the Test team, which saw Australia field weakened sides in a bid to rest players.

But the practice came under fire from past players and saw Australia slide down the rankings.

Howard had announced his intention to quit some time next year – but that decision was fast tracked today as new CEO Kevin Roberts shuffled his key executives.

Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson had called for Howard's axing just a few days ago when he told The Australian: “I think the high performance side of things has definitely taken over in the sport.

"I think it’s gone too far with looking at many issues like the bowling workloads for bowlers, the training methods …

"It needs to be addressed and hopefully it gets addressed sooner rather than later."

Today's decision was also welcomed by cricket legend Ian Chappell

"As a captain, I wouldn’t have wanted Pat Howard coming to me and telling me Dennis Lillee couldn’t play the next Test because he’s in the red zone," he told Nine's WWOS.

"My response would have been to ask Dennis if he was right to play, and if he said yes I would have told Howard to buzz off, except I may not have been that polite."

He added: "I guess he came into a difficult situation, because everyone was asking what the hell a rugby union bloke was doing in a position that you’d think would require a lot of cricket knowledge."

Today's announcements included the exit of another executive Ben Amarfio as departments were renamed and merged.

CEO Kevin Roberts added: “It is clear that we need to deepen our relationships with fans, players and the broader cricket community.

“Everyone at CA is focused on rebuilding and moving forward after what has been a turbulent year in Australian cricket."

The new CA Executive team announced today is

Kevin Roberts CEO
Anthony Everard EGM Fan Engagement
Belinda Clark Interim EGM Team Performance
Christine Harman General Counsel & Company Secretary
Karina Keisler EGM Communications and Stakeholder Engagement
Kieran McMillan Interim EGM Community Cricket
Mike Osborne GM Technology
Raj Tapper GM People and Culture
Stephanie Beltrame Interim EGM Broadcasting & Commercial
Todd Shand CFO
Nick Hockley CEO ICC World T20 (reports to Board of Local Organising Committee)