Commonsense has prevailed – with the help of a nifty pivot via the Cricket Australia constitution – to allow Earl Eddings to serve as chairman of the governing body for a further three years, outflanking the evident disapproval of Cricket Victoria, his own state.
Eddings was overnight confirmed as having the backing of the CA Board to continue as chairman, and will maintain his place to do so as a director by resigning as Victoria’s state-appointed board member and instead taking the independent vacancy left by the removal of his predecessor David Peever last year amid the fallout from the Newlands scandal and subsequent Ethics Centre review.
This leaves Victoria free to choose their own director between now and the AGM in October, meaning the state gets the chance to select a figure with a relevant array of experience and gravitas to help guide CA into the future.
The NSW-appointed vacancy left by Mark Taylor’s resignation last year has been taken by Richard Freudenstein, a longtime executive for media companies owned by Rupert Murdoch. Formerly CEO of Foxtel, Freudenstein has also been CEO of News Corp’s digital arm News Digital Media, The Australian newspaper and worked as the chief operating officer for British Sky Broadcasting.
His appointment provides the board with deeper knowledge of News Corp and Foxtel in the midst of a A$1.18 billion broadcast deal that the pay television provider paid the majority share of, in conjunction with the free-to-air network Seven.
“It is a privilege to be joining the Board of Cricket Australia and I look forward to bringing my skills and experience to the organisation,” Freudenstein said. “Cricket is in a very strong position and has deep roots in the sporting and cultural life of our country. Like many Australians, I love the game and the impact it has in communities, and I look forward to working with my fellow board colleagues to help take advantage of the opportunities ahead.”
Since he took over from Peever late last year, Eddings had been shackled somewhat by Victoria’s very public rejection of the board’s decision to appoint him as chairman. As the CV chairman Paul Barker said in November: “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.
“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.”
However Eddings has managed in the interim to chair the board effectively, while also avoiding the kinds of public humiliations that his predecessor Peever stumbled through in the lead-up to his resignation, after Cricket New South Wales and its chairman John Knox withdrew support. Barker said CV supported Eddings as an independent director.
“CV supports CA’s decision to appoint Earl as an independent director,” he said, “and looks forward to working with him and the CA Board as we continue to grow Australian Cricket.”
Michelle Tredenick and John Harnden, meanwhile, are to remain as CA directors after they were endorsed by the rest of the board for further three-year terms. Harnden was a contender for the role of CA chief executive last year, before it was ultimately taken by the former CA director Kevin Roberts, a close ally of Peever.
The director Jacquie Hey, who sat alongside Peever when he released the findings of the Ethics Centre review into CA’s culture last year, said that Eddings had earned the chance to work as CA director for a full three-year term.
“Earl is well respected and has deep connections across all levels of Australian cricket thanks to his involvement in cricket over a number of years as a player, club president and administrator,” Hey said. “More recently Earl has contributed as the former co-Chair of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Committee.
“The directors nominated are all very passionate about growing cricket, and to have professionals of such standing and success, commit to our sport for another term is excellent for Cricket Australia. Today’s announcements reflect our continued commitment to good governance and to building a skills-based Board aligned to the needs of Australian Cricket.”
Source: ESPN Crickinfo