National coach Matthew Mott is adamant the women's Twenty20 World Cup final legacy will live on as Cricket Australia prepares to cut costs and cop its financial whack.
CA should not suffer anywhere near as much as AFL, NRL and other sporting organisations that hit the stop button with no idea of when the COVID-19 pandemic will allow them to hit play.
The governing body is also well placed to weather the storm compared to other cricket boards, with England's home season and the launch of The Hundred now clouded in doubt.
But, as is the case with almost every organisation, there will be changes.
"This is an awful thing ... but in terms of timing for cricket, we have been incredibly lucky," Mott said, adding his thoughts are with the many doing it tough.
"We can shut down over Easter. Shut down a few off-season programs.
"There will be huge financial implications ... the whole business is going to have to be more efficient. Things will be cut out.
"But the expectation at the moment is that Cricket Australia as a business can absorb this ... obviously the longer it goes on, it's going to put more pressure on everyone."
CA has led the way in professionalising women's sport in Australia and Mott is confident that will continue in the current financial climate.
"The legacy (of the T20 World Cup) will live on," he said.
"We showed at the MCG if you put the work in ... the audience is there."
However, Mott and other senior figures have been told to provide "really constructive feedback on how we can save money".
Mott's team start their leave period next week and have been sent training kits to help keep fit in isolation, while sleeping patterns will continue to be monitored as part of CA's wellness program.
Soon-to-be issued national contracts, Ellyse Perry's successful hamstring surgery and 2021 one-day World Cup plans are among many important topics that Mott has recently discussed with colleagues via video link-up.
"It's incredible. We feel really connected despite the isolation," Mott told journalists on a teleconference call, flagging it as a potential ongoing belt-tightening measure.
Australia's T20 World Cup win on March 8, a feel-good moment capped with on-stage celebrations alongside pop star Katy Perry, seems like a lifetime ago.
A trans-Tasman men's ODI was played in front of no crowd at the SCG just five days after some 86,174 flocked to the MCG, underlining how close the coronavirus came to derailing the landmark moment for women's sport.
Australian Associated Press
