Former England captain Andrew Strauss in contention to become Cricket Australia chief

According to reports of Peter Lalor, senior Cricket writer for The Australian, former England captain Andrew Strauss has been touted by influential figures in Australian Cricket to be the next CEO of Cricket Australia. Strauss, who was born in Johannesburg, has the required management credentials as well as an understanding of Australian grassroots cricket. Strauss has […]
 
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Former England captain Andrew Strauss in contention to become Cricket Australia chief

According to reports of Peter Lalor, senior Cricket writer for The Australian, former England captain Andrew Strauss has been touted by influential figures in Australian Cricket to be the next CEO of Cricket Australia.

Strauss, who was born in Johannesburg, has the required management credentials as well as an understanding of Australian grassroots cricket.
Strauss has had experience of playing Cricket in Australia. Prior to playing 100 Tests for England, Strauss played for Sydney University in 1998-99, which is when he met his wife Ruth McDonald. Strauss later returned to play two years at Manly before the pair settled in England.

After his playing career, Strauss was knighted and was appointed as the England and Wales Cricket Board’s director of cricket in 2015. He ultimately stepped down from the role in 2018 to spend more time with his wife, who died from a rare form of lung cancer later that year.

Cricket Australia is going through a period of turmoil having this week laid off 40 staff, including batting coach Graeme Hick, in a desperate push to save $40 million next financial year.

Kevin Roberts was also let go this week after 20 months in charge that ended with deep dissatisfaction over his handling of the financial situation during COVID-19.

Former England captain Andrew Strauss in contention to become Cricket Australia chief

ALSO READ: Nick Hockley named interim CEO of Cricket Australia

Strauss’ compatriot, Nick Hockley, has been appointed as interim chief as CA takes its time to find the right appointment.

Cricket Australia chairman Earl Eddings told reporters this week, “One of the most important roles of the board is to appoint a CEO, and that’s our role to do that. We’ll take our time and do an extensive search here and overseas. In the meantime, we have an outstanding candidate in Nick who can run the show in the meantime. I think that’s one of the most important things as a board that we do.”

Strauss has previously acknowledged that playing cricket in Australia helped in his development. He said, “I enjoyed the Aussie attitude to cricket. They played an ego-driven form of the game in which admitting to weakness was akin to admitting having an affair with your brother’s wife.”