Sport
30 September, 2026
Boon needs to restore ‘commonsense’ says Nanva
Labor spokesperson for Goulburn Bob Nanva has called on the incoming chair of Cricket Australia David Boon to abandon the organisation’s “reckless and divisive plan” to privatise the Big Bash League (BBL).
Labor spokesperson for Goulburn Bob Nanva has called on the incoming chair of Cricket Australia David Boon to abandon the organisation’s “reckless and divisive plan” to privatise the Big Bash League (BBL).
Boon replaces former NSW Premier Mike Baird, who resigned over CA’s plan to sell off BBL clubs to private investors, starting with the Melbourne Renegades.
Baird announced that he would not be seeking re-election at CA’s annual general meeting in late October after losing the support of his home state for the privatisation push.
Boon will step into the interim role while the search is run to find a permanent successor.
Nanva said Australia’s cricketing community was counting on Boon to “restore commonsense” to the sports national governing body.
He said BBL had been a “stunning success” since its inaugural season in 2011/12.
He said it was now Australian cricket’s most important source of revenue and its most important mechanism for connecting with fans.
Eight teams compete in the BBL – Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.
Under CA’s ‘self-determination’ model of privatisation, each state will be allowed to decide its own case.
It is understood that Cricket NSW had been strongly opposed to privatisation from the outset.
Boon – who played 107 tests and 181 one-day internationals for Australia – said it was an “enormous honour” to take on the position of interim chair at a “hugely exciting” but nevertheless challenging time for the game.
“I look forward to leading the CA board as we continue to make decisions that ensure the long-term health and prosperity of the game and advancing Australia’s interests globally,” he said after his appointment had been announced.
Mr Nanva said Australian cricket had ‘dodged a Baird bullet’.
“As Premier of NSW, Mike Baird sold public roads to private toll operators, privatised the poles and wires of our electricity network and left greyhound racing in chaos,” Nanva said.
“NSW is still paying the price for his mismanagement.
“Similarly, the partial or full privatisation of the Big Bash League would have financially crippled cricket for decades to come.”
Mr Nanva said Boon would give CA “the reset it needs and provide the calm and sensible leadership that it craves”.
Boon was appointed to the CA board in February last year after serving as a Cricket Tasmania director for nine years, three of them as chair (2022-2025).
He also spent more than a decade as an Australian selector (2000-2011) and was an ICC match referee for 14 years.
Cricket locally is underway across Soutehrn NSW and our comprehensive coverage of local cricket will commence this week on The Southern Wire.
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