Cricket Australia Has Been Ready For A Female CEO For A Long Time, Says Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry (left) feels Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) boss Christina Matthews (right) is a frontrunner, alongside a couple of other senior women administrators, to occupy the head office of Cricket Australia (CA).
Australia’s all rounder Ellyse Perry believes the time is ripe for a woman to run the Cricket Australia and has excellent candidates within easy reach right now.
Cricket Australia (CA) appointed Nick Hockley as the interim CEO after Kevin Roberts resigned this week after enduring months of criticism over his leadership. CA is already conducting a global search for a permanent boss.
Ellyse Perry feels Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) boss Christina Matthews is a frontrunner, alongside a couple of other senior women, to occupy the head office of Cricket Australia (CA).
Also Read | Arun Dhumal: Vivo Sponsorship In IPL Helps Indian Economy, Not Other Way Around
“I think Cricket Australia has been ready for a female CEO for a long time,” Perry told reporters in a video call on Friday. “I know Chris (Matthews) was in discussions for the last round of hiring for the role. We’ve got a number of women working in high executive roles in Cricket Australia, Belinda Clark and Steph Beltrame to name a couple,” Perry said.
Clark and Beltrame have both been staffers at CA for a long time. Clark also captained Australia in the past and is in charge of running community cricket in the country. Beltrame holds the broadcasting and commercial portfolio in the executive team.
“They are absolutely pivotal in the way that we operate. So, yeah, I think there’s some really strong representation,” said Perry. The Australian women’s team were crowned the T20 World Cup in March just days before the coronavirus pandemic suspended all cricket activities.
Lingering fears over the women’s game being affected by cost-cutting restructures to deal with the impact of Covid-19 were alleviated this week. The cricket board has confirmed that the full summer schedule would be retained.
Also Read | Chronicle of a Merger Foretold: The Swift Death of the Legacy of Mohun Bagan
While the Australian men’s team announced forty redundancies along with the departure of coach Graeme Hick, the women’s team has kept all its staff.
“We’ve been incredibly fortunate in that sense,” Perry said. “I know from a player and staffing perspective, we feel very grateful given everything that’s been going on.”
Get the latest reports & analysis with people's perspective on Protests, movements & deep analytical videos, discussions of the current affairs in your Telegram app. Subscribe to NewsClick's Telegram channel & get Real-Time updates on stories, as they get published on our website.
