A lack of success over extended periods for both the Hobart Hurricanes and the Tasmanian Tigers could not go unpunished.

Something had to change and to its credit the board of Cricket Tasmania has taken action to arrest the sliding fortunes of the state’s two marquee teams.

A new chief executive in Nick Cummins has taken over the reins from David Johnston who stepped down after 19 years in the role.

A new Tigers head coach in Adam Griffith replaces the unsuccessful Dan Marsh whose contract was terminated early and the axing this week of assistant coach Damien Wright and general manager Andrew Dykes was a result of Mike Hussey’s independent review of high-performance structure.

Heads have rolled and one could almost hear the dulcet tones of Bill Lawry saying, “It’s all happening here at Blundstone Arena.”

The appointment of Cummins who was a successful general manager at the Sydney Thunder BBL franchise is welcomed and hopefully brings a breath of fresh air and a new outlook to cricket in the state.

Cummins has stated that he is a firm believer in a whole of state approach which is much needed in Tasmanian cricket.

With the expansion of the BBL on the cards, he has flagged his desire to take Hurricanes games to the rest of the state and a willingness to work with the Launceston City Council to bring BBL and other elite content to UTas Stadium.

This has been a long-held goal of the council and a dream of Northern cricket fans starved of such opportunities in the past.

“Firstly, this is not Cricket Hobart, it is Cricket Tasmania and the thinking needs to reflect that as well,” Cummins said when appointed.

“The potential expansion of the BBL gives us a fantastic opportunity to turn the Hobart Hurricanes into the Hurricanes which is a team for all Tasmanians not just the people who live in the 7000 postcode.”

Cummins wants to double the Hurricanes membership from the current 3000 and grow it to at least match North Melbourne’s 7000 and Hawthorn’s 9000 – saying it was incongruous to him that the Hurricanes should not be the biggest membership in the state.

It’s a refreshing outlook and approach that will engage the rest of the state and sit well with cricket fans in the North and North-West – overlooked for too long by a Hobart-centric organisation of the past.

Cummins is talking the talk and it is to be hoped that he will be able to walk the walk in implementing his new vision for cricket in the state.

Joining him in a key role in the new-look Cricket Tasmania structure will be newly appointed Tigers head coach Griffith.

The 39-year-old, former Kings Meadows High and Launceston College student, takes over the role on a three-year contract.

The former South Launceston quick played 50 matches for Tasmania and was part of the Tigers’ maiden 2006-07 Sheffield Shield victory under Tim Coyle before heading to Western Australia as bowling coach assisting Justin Langer.

A popular choice it would seem as new coach, Griffith faces the challenge of turning around the Tigers’ fortunes which saw the team finish in the bottom two of the Shield in each of Marsh’s three seasons in charge and fail to make finals of the one-day competition.

Cummins said Griffith impressed the panel with his clear vision and direction and his role under Langer in reviving the fortunes of the Warriors as a strong team.

Griffith will also work with former South African opener Gary Kirsten who replaced Wright after the Hurricanes also failed to make finals in the past three BBL instalments.

All this definitely marks a significant changing of the guard for Tasmanian cricket.

A chief executive with fresh ideas working with two new coaches offers the chance to rebuild a winning culture again.

Let’s hope positive results flow.