David Boon is the man stepping in. The former Test batter, who joined the CA board in 2025 to fill the Tasmania vacancy, will lead the organisation on an interim basis after Mike Baird stood down as chair and director on 28 September. Baird had held the role since February 2023. His exit follows a bruising split over private investment in the Big Bash, with New South Wales leading the resistance. Boon now steadies the board while the search for a permanent replacement begins.
Baird Walks Away After Board Rift
Baird announced on 28 September that he was standing down as both chair and director after much consideration. He said he was delighted Boon had agreed to take on the interim role, framing the handover as an orderly one. The timing tells a different story. Cricket NSW had publicly criticised the national body on 9 September, calling itself disappointed that private investment into the Big Bash League was going ahead without alignment across the sport.
The state body warned the move risked leaving the game in NSW and nationally worse off, both strategically and financially. It also said conditions agreed in June had not been met, and NSW, led by chairman John Knox, withdrew support for Baird’s re-election. That loss of backing from the country’s biggest state association left Baird exposed. A chair heading towards re-election without NSW behind him had little room to push the investment plan through, and stepping aside avoided a contested vote.
Cricket Australia Interim Chair Takes Charge
Boon brings a long administrative record to the job. He joined the CA board in 2025, succeeding Paul Green in the Tasmania vacancy, after nine years on the Cricket Tasmania board. He chaired Cricket Tasmania from 2022 to 2025. Before that, he served as a national selector from 2000 to 2011 and has worked as an ICC match referee since 2011, a 14-year stint that has kept him close to the international game.
Few administrators in the country can match that spread. Boon has seen the game from the selection table, the referee’s room and a state boardroom, which gives him credibility with players, officials and state bodies alike. Boon described the appointment as an enormous honour, arriving at what he sees as a hugely exciting and challenging time for the sport. The challenging part is the one that will define his tenure.
Big Bash Investment Split the States
The CA board approved private investment in the Big Bash on 7 September, with the announcement following on 8 September. That same day, a sale process for the Melbourne Renegades was also approved. Under the model, states can sell 49 per cent stakes. Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia back the plan, while NSW and Queensland oppose it. South Australia has been lukewarm on the idea.
The divide is not a small one. NSW and Queensland are two of the largest state associations, and having both opposed to a national commercial strategy puts real pressure on whoever sits at the head of the board. The aim is to complete sales by Christmas, with new ownership in place for the 2027-28 season. Boon inherits that timeline and the state divisions that come with it, though as a Tasmanian board member he comes from a state that backed the plan.
Permanent Successor Search and the AGM
CA will now start the process of appointing a permanent successor, a search expected to take several months. The AGM is set for 28 October, and Boon will hold the role while that process runs. That leaves a narrow window for the board to reset relations with NSW and Queensland before the Big Bash sales gather pace. Any permanent appointment will be judged on whether it can bring those states back to the table.
The AGM will be the first formal test of the new setup. States will want clarity on how the search is run and who sits on the panel, particularly those that opposed the Big Bash investment model.
For now, the Cricket Australia interim chair is a figure with deep roots in selection, officiating and state administration. Boon’s task is less about vision and more about calming a divided board until a permanent leader is found.