Outgoing CA chairman thanks Kiwis

Wally Edwards has taken his final bow as Cricket Australia chairman, praising New Zealand Cricket for valuing the longest form of the game.

Edwards stepped down after Thursday's annual general meeting (AGM), having overseen a restructure of CA's board and major changes at the International Cricket Council.

He and chief executive James Sutherland helped broker an agreement with New Zealand Cricket that paved the way for this summer's inaugural day-night Test.

Edwards dismissed reports that NZC was wary of wanting to forge a closer relationship and only signed the deal because of this pressure.

"New Zealand Cricket is in a very imaginative and dynamic stage. They're very progressive," Edwards told reporters.

"They modified their board 10 or 15 years ago.

They understand the need and they've spoken passionately about it at ICC.

"They understand the need to get Test cricket refreshed. They've spoken passionately about it at ICC."

Edwards added that a lot of other International Cricket Council members were not actively trying to keep Test cricket as the pinnacle.

"NZ are. They're passionate about it and they want it to succeed," he said.

"They understand it comes down to people coming through the gate and watching it on TV.

"If you haven't got that, it's going to be very hard (for Test cricket to be viable) long, long term."

Edwards lamented the fact there had not been more trans-Tasman series recently.

"That was really our fault too. We let that slip," he said.

Edwards thanked Sutherland and many others in his final AGM speech.

"It has been a labour of love," he said.

Edwards' successor as CA chairman is David Peever, who was appointed Rio Tinto Australia managing director in 2009.

The inaugural day-night Test starts at Adelaide Oval on November 27, while the three-Test series begins on Thursday in Brisbane.