Mark Taylor resigns as CA Board director

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has resigned from his position as the Cricket Australia Board director as the bloodletting continues in the wake of the cultural reviews released last week.

Taylor had been spoken about as a potential successor to David Peever, who was forced to quit last week, and said his decision had taken a “high degree of soul searching” but that the last 18 months, going back to the “toxic” MoU negotiations, and particularly the last six months involving the Cape Town ball-tampering had becoming increasingly challenging. He added that he had been considering the move since before the release of the Longstaff review which brought the eventual downfall of Peever following pressure from New South Wales. Taylor had been critical of the process of Peever’s re-election as chairman just days before the review was released and before it had been seen by the state associations.

“I have always appreciated serving cricket at this peak level, especially as it enabled me to repay by gratitude at being given the ultimate privilege and honour of representing by country, along with the added rare honour of being appointed its captain,” Taylor said in his resignation letter to interim CA chairman Earl Eddings.

“Following on from the events in March this year that rocked the cricketing world, and the ongoing damage this created for our game, including vital employer-employee relationships, my principle brief has been to work hard at fostering and restoring a workable, meaningful and respectful understanding between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association, especially at a time both parties were still recovering from the prolonged spirited, vigorous and, sometimes, toxic MoU negotiations dating back to mid-2017.

“As Australian cricket faces up to its latest challenge, the time therefore has arrived for me to step back and allow Cricket Australia and the ACA to work from a fresh page in restoring the important values that have enabled Australia, for many years, to be recognised as one of the world’s most admired and successful cricket nations.”

Taylor also spoke about his continued role in the media bringing increasing conflicts of interest for him at a controversial time for the game. When asked about those he saw as potential successors to his position, he name-checked Alex Blackwell, currently on the board of NSW, former women’s captain Belinda Clark, who works for CA, and former Test batsman Simon Katich.

More to follow…