Uphill battle for Sutherland’s successor as CA chief

SYDNEY: James Sutherland’s successor at Cricket Australia(CA) will face a “hell of a job” to maintain the governing body’s international relationships, according to the former chairman Bob Merriman, who also said the current heir apparent Kevin Roberts should spend as much time as possible with the outgoing boss to learn more of his pragmatic ways.

In assessing Sutherland’s 17-year tenure, both his predecessor Malcolm Speed and Merriman touched on common themes of an era beginning in 2001, which led to an exponential growth of the business. CA took the game to new audiences through its promotion of the Big Bash League and women’s cricket and formed a strong relationship with BCCI, feeding off its financial might.

Merriman, who was on the panel to select Sutherland as CEO and became his first long-term leadership partner from 2001 to 2005, said that the outgoing chief executive’s high standard over a long period was underlined by the way he had juggled domestic and international responsibilities, alongside the tension between the game’s traditions and its search for growth. He described Sutherland’s exit as a “great loss for cricket”. ‘I didn’t think it would ever happen’