Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird has resigned as a bitter dispute over private investment in the Big Bash League intensifies, with former Australian Test great David Boon appointed interim chair.

Baird, a former NSW premier who became Cricket Australia chair in 2023, will leave the position at the governing body’s annual general meeting next month. Boon will take over on an interim basis while Cricket Australia searches for a permanent chair.

The departure comes just weeks after Cricket Australia announced it would push ahead with bringing private investment into the BBL, beginning with the Melbourne Renegades, despite deep divisions among state cricket associations over the future ownership and financial structure of the competition.

Baird’s position became increasingly difficult after Cricket NSW withdrew its support for him to continue as its nominated director for another three-year term.

Despite Baird’s previous links with Cricket NSW, the state association has been among the strongest opponents of Cricket Australia’s approach to BBL privatisation. Queensland has also expressed opposition to elements of the plan.

The dispute centres on Cricket Australia’s push to introduce private capital into the Big Bash as Australian cricket attempts to compete with increasingly wealthy Twenty20 competitions around the world.

Earlier this month, Cricket Australia confirmed the Melbourne Renegades would be the first BBL franchise taken to market.

The governing body wants the Renegades operating under private ownership from the 2027-28 season. Depending on the outcome of that process, other state associations could then decide whether to seek private investment in their own teams.

That represents a shift from earlier discussions about a more uniform league-wide privatisation model.

In June, Cricket Australia and the six state associations reached in-principle support for a “self-determination model”, allowing individual states to decide whether private investment was appropriate for their clubs.

But NSW, Queensland and South Australia had raised concerns about the financial and governance implications, while Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia were more receptive to private capital.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association has also been involved in negotiations, with player approval required for elements of the proposed restructuring.

Cricket Victoria has been one of the strongest advocates for change.

In June, it announced plans to sell the Renegades licence and restructure its remaining Melbourne BBL operation. Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins said at the time there had been interest from potential investors in Australia, India, Europe and the United States.

The proposal has raised broader questions about how much control private investors could eventually exercise over BBL clubs, including branding, commercial operations and the relationship between franchises and their state associations.

Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has argued private investment is increasingly necessary for the BBL to compete in an international T20 market that includes the Indian Premier League, South Africa’s SA20, Major League Cricket in the United States and England’s Hundred.

Baird’s resignation is the most substantial leadership consequence so far from those disagreements.

Fox Sports reported that Cricket NSW, chaired by John Knox, informed Baird last week that it would not support his nomination for another three-year term.

David Boon takes the reins

Boon’s elevation puts one of Australian cricket’s most recognisable former players in charge during a particularly sensitive period for the game’s administration.

The Tasmanian played 107 Tests and 181 one-day internationals for Australia, scoring more than 13,000 international runs.

Since retiring as a player, Boon has held several senior roles in cricket, including serving as an International Cricket Council match referee.

He spent nine years as a director of Cricket Tasmania, including three years as its chair, before joining the Cricket Australia board last year.

His immediate challenge will be helping manage relations between Cricket Australia, state associations and players as negotiations over the future structure of the BBL continue.

The debate has implications beyond the ownership of individual franchises.

The states and Cricket Australia must also resolve questions about BBL governance and how revenue and funding will be distributed across Australian cricket under a model in which some franchises could have private investors while others remain controlled by state associations.

For the Melbourne Renegades, the process is already moving ahead.

Cricket Australia says the result of that sale will help determine whether other BBL clubs are subsequently taken to market.

Baird’s departure means that process will now continue under new leadership — with Boon temporarily at the helm as Australian cricket navigates one of the biggest structural changes in the Big Bash’s history.

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