Weenink\u2019s supporters say the chief executive is urging the sport\u2019s leaders to take time to do their due diligence, but his pleas for a pause have \u201cfallen on deaf ears\u201d.<\/p>\n
The competition, supported by major associations and the NZ Cricket Players\u2019 Association, has caused division. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Several senior cricket figures say that a proposed T20 franchise league, backed by Indian investors and several prominent former Black Caps, has become a defining faultline in the sport.<\/p>\n
Depending on who you speak to, the competition has been positioned either as a \u201crebel league\u201d that could jeopardise NZ Cricket\u2019s existing commercial agreements and player development pathways, or as a necessary shake-up that would bring new investment and visibility to the domestic game, and help retain talent currently being lured to overseas T20 leagues.<\/p>\n
The division did not emerge overnight. A leaked email from former president Lesley Murdoch, sent to fellow directors in September and seen by RNZ, shows the board has been gridlocked for months.<\/p>\n
Murdoch wrote that recent decisions had \u201cpromoted distrust and disunity\u201d, and warned cricket \u201cdeserves a board that operates as one team, not a collection of individuals with competing agendas\u201d.<\/p>\n
There are fears the internal division has come at the expense of NZ Cricket\u2019s international reputation<\/a>, leading board chairwoman Diana Puketapu-Lyndon to take the extraordinary step of writing to the sport\u2019s international body to dismiss claims of a \u201chostile takeover\u201d.<\/p>\n Puketapu-Lyndon\u2019s letter, which was also signed by the chairmen of the six major associations, expressed deep concern about \u201cthe origin of any messaging that has the potential to undermine the reputation of cricket and cricket governance in New Zealand\u201d.<\/p>\n It is understood moves are now under way to remove Weenink from his position.<\/p>\n A senior cricket figure told RNZ that Puketapu-Lyndon had met with Weenink and his legal representatives on at least three separate occasions in recent weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt has become very ugly, [Weenink] is basically fighting for his survival right now,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n However, NZ Cricket insists no employment process has begun. In response to questions over whether the board had initiated steps to axe Weenink, NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock replied: \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n He added the board still had confidence in Weenink\u2019s leadership, although \u201cit\u2019s not something that\u2019s been formally discussed\u201d.<\/p>\n Outgoing board member Sarah Beaman, who decided not to stand for re-election at last week\u2019s AGM, said she would be disappointed if the board was making moves to replace Weenink, describing him as \u201can absolutely brilliant CEO\u201d.<\/p>\n NZ Cricket also played down any internal rifts over the proposed new league.<\/p>\n