Mike Baird Quits As Cricket Australia Chair After Cricket NSW Pulls Support

Mike Baird has resigned as Cricket Australia chair and director. He went three weeks after the board opened the Big Bash League to private investment, and after losing the backing of the country's largest state association. David Boon takes the role on an interim basis. Baird told fellow directors on Monday. He will not seek re-election next month.

Baird had chaired the board since February 2023 and sat on it as a director for six years. He was premier of New South Wales before that. His exit follows Cricket NSW's public opposition to the privatisation decision taken earlier in September. ABC News reported that Baird held the New South Wales seat on the Cricket Australia board. Losing the state left him without a nominating body.

Inside the Cricket NSW withdrawal

Cricket NSW set out its objection in plain terms. "This decision risks leaving cricket in NSW and Australia strategically and financially worse off, with direct consequences for our ability to invest in grassroots cricket," the association said. The Canberra Times reported that Baird could have moved to an independent seat on the board but did not wish to continue without the support of all states.

His own statement was short. "After much consideration I have decided to stand down as CA chair and director," Baird said. He added that Australian cricket "continues to be well led by the CA Board". Cricket Australia has not shifted its position on the sale.

The Renegades sale and the state split

The decision that caused the split was narrower than the original plan. Cricket Australia had proposed selling 49 per cent stakes across all eight Big Bash clubs. That stalled. According to The Business Standard, New South Wales and Queensland rejected it over the loss of local control. The model approved this month instead lets each state association decide for itself.

Only one club was put on the market outright.

• Melbourne Renegades: offered for 100 per cent private sale, with new ownership from 2027-28
• Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers: open to private investment
• Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat: staying with their current structures

Australasian Leisure Management reported that the Renegades process runs through the Raine Group and could close by the end of the year. Baird defended the model when it was announced. Private investment, he said, was "a deliberate step to strengthen and secure the long-term future of the game".

Boon takes over before the annual meeting

David Boon moves into the chair while a formal selection process runs. He opened the batting for Australia in Tests. He has since worked as a national selector and in state administration. "It is an enormous honour to take the role of interim CA chair during what is a hugely exciting and also challenging time for cricket," Boon said.

Baird leaves formally after the annual general meeting, which Cricket Australia holds next month. A permanent chair is chosen after that. Reporting by ABC News and The Canberra Times indicates the board carries both state-nominated and independent seats, which is the structure that gave Cricket NSW its leverage.

Baird's four-year figures

Baird pointed to the numbers on his way out. He cited record revenue, record profit, record attendance and record viewership. He also cited a 40 per cent rise in participation across four years. Those figures came from his own resignation statement.

The funding argument now passes to the incoming board. Chief executive Todd Greenberg has said a significant proportion of the sale proceeds would go into a future fund. That fund, he said, would "provide the best and most reliable source of funding for grassroots cricket". Cricket NSW disputes it.

The sale timetable Boon inherits

The dates run against the new chair. Cricket Australia approved the model in early September. Baird went three weeks later. The annual general meeting falls next month, and the Renegades sale is due to be settled around the end of the year. A new owner would not field a team until the summer after next.

So Boon picks up a live transaction rather than a settled one. Four of the eight clubs are open to private money. Three are not. The Adelaide Strikers position was not set out in the reporting. The permanent chair will be chosen by a board the states help to populate.