Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland to stand down from role in 12 months

James Sutherland has announced his resignation as Chief Executive of Cricket Australia.

The long-time CEO will step down within 12 months, allowing the governing body time to find a suitable replacement.

“The time is right for me and my family, and the time is right for cricket.” Sutherland said.

“My overwhelming feeling today is a sense of gratitude.

“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”

CA chairman David Peever has paid tribute to Sutherland.

“James’ passion for and dedication to the game is indisputable,” Peever said.

“The game has never been in a stronger position and we are looking forward to continuing to work with James whilst we conduct a search to find a suitable replacement.

“James has been talking to me about this for at least two years now.

“For almost the entire time I’ve been chairman we’ve been talking about the best time.

“This is an incredibly complex job, it has many dimensions.”

It’s been a tumultuous twelve months for the governing body, with a long-running pay dispute with the players in 2017, followed by the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March and recent match-fixing allegations against two Australian players.

“We’ve had some big things to deal with over the course of the last 12 months,” Sutherland said.

“Obviously there was Cape Town, but there’s also some key planks that are now in place that allow me to step aside and for a new chief executive to come in.

“It (the ball-tampering scandal) hasn’t had a bearing on my decision. “

Sutherland joined as general manager of what was the Australian Cricket Board in 1998, before being appointed Chief Executive in 2001.