Cricket Australia’s appointment of new chairman met by opposition
Earl Eddings has been named as Cricket Australia's (CA) chairman on a full-time basis, but his appointment has been met by opposition from one of the sport's prominent state bodies.
Key points:
- Earl Eddings replaces David Peever, who stood down as CA chairman earlier this month
- Cricket Victoria wanted the chairman role to remain on an interim basis until CA board positions are filled
- Mr Eddings has been involved with CA since 2008
Mr Eddings had served as CA's interim chairman since replacing David Peever, who was forced to resign at the beginning of this month following the findings of the Longstaff Review into the sport's culture in Australia.
Cricket Victoria (CV), however, has not welcomed the appointment of the Melbourne-based Mr Eddings.
CV chairman Paul Barker said Mr Eddings's position should not have been made permanent until all CA board positions were filled.
"Cricket Victoria has made its view clear and our preference remains that the interim chairman arrangements were maintained while Australian cricket undertakes a thorough process to fill the recent board vacancies," Mr Barker said in a statement.
"We have actively encouraged Cricket Australia to pursue this opportunity through an established nominations committee — a process that Cricket Victoria firmly believes would deliver the best outcome for Australian cricket."
Mr Eddings's initial tenure will last for less than a year, as he will be up for re-election at CA's 2019 annual general meeting.
He became CA's deputy chairman last month and has been a board director since 2008.
"Cricket is only what it is in Australia because of the commitment of our people, the fans and the thousands of volunteers around the country," Mr Eddings said in a statement.
"I am honoured to serve in this position and am committed to making cricket stronger and a game that we can all be proud of."
Mr Eddings was called into action while serving as interim chairman when he signed off on CA's decision not to reduce the ball-tampering bans for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft last week.
Mr Peever resigned on November 1 in the wake of the Longstaff Review, despite being re-appointed as CA chairman the previous week.
He had said he accepted "full responsibility" for the negative conclusions of the Longstaff Review, before being forced to step down when he lost the support of key stakeholders.
Mr Peever's departure was followed by Mark Taylor's decision to resign as a CA director, while executive general manager of team performance Pat Howard was asked to step down.
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