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PCB’s head curator Tony Hemming left Pakistan without informing anyone, a year before the completion of his contract, due to disagreements with a top official.
He has arrived in Bangladesh, where he will once again take on the role of Head of Turf Management.
Hemming assumed the role in July last year on a two-year contract, but has stepped down after 13 months.
Notably, the Western Australian joined the PCB after his contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had expired.
According to sources, on Friday, Tony Hemming left Lahore for Dhaka without informing anyone. Upon arriving in Bangladesh, he emailed his resignation to the PCB.
Since Tony Hemming did not complete his notice period, the PCB is demanding four months’ salary back from him. He was earning 4.5 million rupees per month, which means he will have to return 18 million rupees to the board.
In Bangladesh, Tony Hemming will take on the role of Head of Turf Management, and all other curators in the country will report to him. The BCB recently extended the contract of the current head curator, Gamini De Silva, by one year, making it difficult for him to remain in his position now. It is worth noting that Tony served as the head curator for the ICC in Dubai from 2007 to 2017.
During his stint as PCB chief curator, Hemming prepared pitches for Pakistan’s ICC World Test Championship matches against Bangladesh (two in August/September) and England (three in October) last year.
Hemming also curated pitches for the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, held in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9.
For the unversed, Tony Hemming is a highly respected curator with nearly four decades of experience.
He has worked at various iconic cricket grounds in Australia, including Melbourne, Perth and Tasmania, as well as in countries such as Bangladesh, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where he was the ICC’s Head Curator from 2007 to 2017 in Dubai.
During his time with the ICC, Hemming also oversaw pitch preparation at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, which was one of Pakistan’s home venues between 2009 and 2019.
It must be noted that Hemming had replaced Zahid, who started his career by joining the Chairman of the PCB Curators Committee in 2001.
Zahid was later appointed as the Chief Curator in 2004. He resigned from this role back in 2020 but was reappointed by former PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja in 2021.
He played a significant role in preparing pitches for several home series, including the ICC Champions Trophy. A few months ago, he had disagreements with a board official, which led him to seek alternative employment. The Bangladesh Cricket Board offered him a position, giving him the green light to resume his responsibilities.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday reappointed Tony Hemming as its Head of Turf Management on a two-year contract.
BCB’s cricket operations chairman, Jalal Yunus Rahman, confirmed Hemming’s appointment.
“Tony Hemming has been appointed as head of turf management for two years,” Rahman said.
“All our international venues and curators will be under his supervision, and he will also oversee the training of Bangladeshi curators. There was strong interest from our board directors in bringing him back,” he added.
Rahman praised Hemming’s credentials, calling him ‘one of the best curators in the world,’ and suggested that his previous positive experience with the BCB influenced his decision to return.
