The massive financial hit in the year ended June 30 comes despite CA axing 40 jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

But CA’s board says the deficit was projected on a four-year cycle which relies heavily on money generated from international tours.

Only lower-profile New Zealand and Pakistan toured Australia in the financial year.

CA director Paul Green, who is chairman of the organisation’s risk and audit committee, says the deficit is “in line with our budget and the broader long-range plan for Cricket Australia”.

“I would remind you all that the financial results of Cricket Australia are subject to fluctuations over each four-year touring cycle, depending on the touring teams that visit each year and their respective commercial values,” Green told CA’s annual general meeting on Thursday.

“The FY20 year was always expected to be the low year in the current cycle for Australian cricket.

” … however while these results are in line with our expectations, I think you all will appreciate that there is a bit more to the story for FY20.

“As we came toward the back end of the cricket season, the potential ramifications of COVID began to manifest themselves.”

Green said COVID-19 had a direct impact on some revenue streams while warning of “the prospect of some more severe implications to come”.

“In some respects we were fortunate with the timing of the onset of COVD in regard to our FY20 results but that has not diminished the longer term implications for cricket,” he said.

“Notwithstanding the FY20 financial results, we are clearly facing a range of challenges.”

CA chairman Earl Eddings and interim chief executive officer Nick Hockley said the organisation saved $40 million by delivering operational changes.

Eddings and Hockley, in a joint summary in CA’s annual report, said the savings would “partly mitigate” the impact of COVID-19 in the next financial year.

“Sadly this program included a reduction of 40 roles from CA,” Eddings and Hockley wrote.

“While not easy, these decisions were made to protect our investment in community and high-performance cricket while ensuring the game’s financial sustainability.”

-AAP