{"id":944044,"date":"2026-10-28T14:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/944044\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T14:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:40:16","slug":"david-boon-on-front-foot-as-cricket-australia-hands-new-boss-a-sticky-wicket-cricket-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/944044\/","title":{"rendered":"David Boon on front foot as Cricket Australia hands new boss a sticky wicket | Cricket Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Boon walked on to one of the stickier wickets in Australian sport on Wednesday, after Cricket Australia warned the national pastime faces years of financial losses<\/a> and a period of \u201ccost minimisation\u201d. The outlook is grim, and that\u2019s without a glance towards a cricketing world of emboldened match-fixers and upturned by Indian interests, facing an Australian summer that is no longer the country\u2019s own<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The moustached former Test No 3 batter was sent into the middle due to the ousting of Mike Baird, whose place as chair was pulled out from under him by New South Wales officials unhappy at the manner of his pursuit of BBL private investment.<\/p>\n

Millions may flow from sales of the Melbourne Renegades<\/a> \u2013 for whom a buyer could be found before the end of the year \u2013 and other franchises. That would soften the bruising of the financial fall in the down phase of Australian cricket\u2019s four-year, Ashes-to-Ashes cycle, courtesy of the international sports investment community. A comfortable bed of banknotes not unlike that kept by Scrooge McDuck, given the price touted for the Renegades alone would single-handedly turn around three years\u2019 worth of CA deficits.<\/p>\n

With the \u201cright protections, right safeguards, the right investment, the right opportunities\u201d, as Baird espoused on Wednesday, young cricketers might even end up with something that benefits them more than MI Melbourne. Yet landing the not straightforward privatisation is only the first task of many for Boon in a delicate time for the sport.<\/p>\n

The Tasmanian \u2013 who has spent his post-playing career as a selector and ICC match referee \u2013 is formally taking on the role in an interim manner, though he has wide support to take the post on a permanent basis, working in concert with a board and chief executive Todd Greenberg.<\/p>\n

David Boon played 107 Tests and 181 ODIs for Australia before becoming CA\u2019s interim chair. Photograph: Mark Leech\/Offside\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

From his throne alternating between Hobart and Jolimont, Boon will oversee a cricketing fiefdom being dragged into the present day. Cricket Australia<\/a> officials are desperate to muscle out the likes of the UAE and South Africa from the late-summer franchise cricket window to preserve its status \u2013 alongside the IPL and The Hundred \u2013 as one of the three major global men\u2019s short-form competitions.<\/p>\n

So desperate, in fact, they are prepared to \u201cmarch ahead\u201d \u2013 as Baird said \u2013 with privatisation despite falling short of consensus with the states<\/a> and, so far, the players. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a strong belief that private investment, with appropriate safeguards, can keep the Big Bash as the dominant league, it can keep the January window the dominant window for Big Bash outside of the IPL, and we certainly think it connects us into global franchises,\u201d Baird said.<\/p>\n

Opening Wednesday\u2019s AGM with a short address, Boon wasted no time in declaring it was full steam ahead for privatisation, \u201ca huge and important project\u201d, despite the presence in the room of new board member Ed Cowan. The former Australian opener was elevated as the new board nomination from New South Wales and is a prominent critic of the BBL plans.<\/p>\n

Boon\u2019s stance reflects that of Cricket<\/a> Tasmania officials, who have sought interest from partners without the help of investment firms managing the Renegades process. Talks are under way with six parties interested in a slice of the Hurricanes, with investment set to be finalised within 12 months.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Renegades face an uncertain future as Cricket Australia\u2019s BBL privatisation plans fall into place. Photograph: James Ross\/AAP<\/p>\n

The Renegades deal might even be locked in before one is reached with the players, a potential source of consternation for investors wanting buy-in from Australia\u2019s top talent before they write a cheque. On negotiations with the Australian Cricketers Association, Greenberg sounded hopeful but admitted: \u201cWe\u2019re a little way apart in that there\u2019s a difference of opinion contractually about how the proceeds of the sale would operate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Uncertainty also surrounds the future of the Australian men\u2019s side. The contract of coach Andrew McDonald is due to expire at the end of next year\u2019s ODI World Cup. \u201cHe\u2019s held in incredibly high regard by the Cricket Australia board and by all of us. I think he\u2019s done an outstanding job, and I think his results tell you that,\u201d Greenberg said, before delivering a reality check.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in saying that, there\u2019s also an eye on what\u2019s coming next, and there\u2019s no doubt that there\u2019ll be a transition of this team, and we want to make sure that we can have oversight of that so that we protect and thrive into the next phase, whoever that might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

In reflecting on his time as chair, Baird volunteered the most pressing decisions that face Boon, and others within international cricket, including the \u201creinvigoration\u201d of Test cricket, a downturn in TV rights values and corruption.<\/p>\n

The NRMA chief executive was close to Jay Shah, the well-connected former BCCI official now chair of the ICC. Although no longer in a formal role, Baird promised to ensure Boon was introduced to the people he needed to meet at the next ICC meeting in Bali next month, and in Chennai when the Renegades meet the Scorchers in December to open the BBL season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that period, I hope I\u2019m able to connect Boonie \u2013 he\u2019s someone that\u2019s known and loved across the game, so I\u2019m sure it\u2019s not going to be hard for him to pick it up \u2013 but we can\u2019t underestimate the time and effort that goes into that because it\u2019s significant and it\u2019s required for the game,\u201d Baird said. \u201cWe need to be at the table shaping it, not watching it take place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Boon walked on to one of the stickier wickets in Australian sport on Wednesday, after Cricket Australia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":944045,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":["post-944044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cricket","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=944044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/944044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/944045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=944044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=944044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=944044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}