MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 06: Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland speaks during a Cricket Australia announcement at the Victorian Cricket and Community Centre on June 6, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. After a 17-year tenure, James Sutherland has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Cricket Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
The CEO of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, has announced his resignation from the position he has held for 17 years on Wednesday.
Cricket Australia called a press conference on Wednesday morning where Sutherland announced that he will be stepping down from the role in 12 months time while his replacement is found.
"After nearly 20 years at Cricket Australia, the time is right. I feel very comfortable that this is the right time for me and a good time for the game," Sutherland said in a press release.
"In the last 12 months we have laid key foundation stones which have included a new strategy for Australian cricket, a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian Cricketers' Association that provides certainty for our male and female cricketers, and just recently, a new domestic broadcast rights deals that will see broader TV coverage and significant increases in revenue flowing into the game.
"With these foundations in place, I feel that it is a good time to hand over the reins to a new CEO. My successor will have a strong and stable platform from which to lead our national strategy and to deliver on our bold aspirations to grow cricket as Australia’s favourite sport and a sport for all Australians.
"As it has been over the last 20 years, it will be a privilege and honour to continue to serve the game over the remaining months that I am in office."
Since the ball tampering scandal erupted in March this year, the head coach of the men’s national team Darren Lehman resigned from his position and captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were both suspended for a year.
Sutherland took over the role of CA CEO from Malcolm Speed in 2001 when he was just 35 years old.
Through Sutherland’s time at the head of Australian Cricket, participation numbers in the sport have grown from 400,000 to 1.4 million.
He has also contributed to the extreme growth of the Big Bash and Women’s Big Bash leagues as well as locking in a new six-year broadcast deal with the Seven Network and Fox Sports worth almost 1.2 billion dollars.
"On behalf of the board and management of Cricket Australia we thank James for his wonderful service to the game," David Peever, CA Chairman said.
“James has been instrumental in driving crucial change around the game to make it even stronger for future generations.
“During his period of leadership, James has retained a strong passion for junior cricket and its fundamental importance in providing sustainable growth to the sport. To that end, cricket has experienced a 228 per cent increase in participation including a near ten-fold increase in female participation.
“Aggregate attendances have increased by 137 per cent, whilst revenue has also increased nearly ten-fold being around $50 million when James commenced in the position, to around $500 million today.”