Auckland, June 3 (IANS): New Zealand Crickets deputy chief executive has stepped down from his post as the board is looking to cut its workforce by 15 per cent amid the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per a stuff.co.nz report, Australian Anthony Crummy, who managed the New Zealand operations for the 2015 World Cup before joining NZC, bid adieu to its Auckland head office last week.

According to the Stuff sources, there will be more empty desks with 12 of NZC's 80 employees in Auckland and the High Performance Centre at Lincoln, near Christchurch, cut from the payroll.

The cost-cutting measures would allow NZC to keep the same level of funding for the six major associations, districts and clubs, and also avoid cutting the men's and women's domestic calendar, Chief Executive David White had said last week.

"It'd be fair to say it's a significant reduction from that (revenue), hence these significant cuts," White had said.

"We have our priorities for the year which we're not compromising and we're investing in those. The cuts are coming from NZC, $6 million, of which $1.5m is staff."

There have been talks of New Zealand hosting Australia amid a trans-Tasman bubble in November, in all likelihood, behind closed doors. The country is also slated to host the Women's World Cup in February-March next year.