Peever takes over as CA chairman

Cricket Australia has elected its first chairman independent of state interests with the appointment of former Rio Tinto Australia managing director David Peever.

Peever, 58, officially replaced outgoing chairman Wally Edwards at Thursday’s Annual General Meeting in Melbourne. Edwards' four-year term as CA Chairman oversaw a period of significant change, including to the game's governance and financial models.

"This is a key time for Australian cricket," said Peever. "A lot of significant change has occurred for the better on and off the field.

"But in an ever-changing world, I believe we have to work harder than ever before to maintain cricket’s privileged place as the Australia's traditional summer pastime.

"For me, top of that list is encouraging more people to play the game. That means engaging young people, females and Australians of all of our nation's diverse cultural backgrounds.

"I am keen that South Asian and other overseas-born fans who packed Australia's grounds during the recent World Cup are able to maintain their passion for cricket as part of their adopted Australian lifestyles."

A former first-grade cricket opening batsman for Brisbane's Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club, Peever also previously served on the executive committee of Queensland Cricket. He has been a CA Director since 2012.

Edwards’s retirement brings to an end his long association with the game. A left-handed batsman who represented Western Australia and played three Tests for Australia in 1974, Edwards had been in the world of cricket administration for almost four decades, 19 years of which were spent on the board of Cricket Australia.

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"It has been a great privilege to have played a part in helping Australian cricket increase in strength and most importantly the significant progression of professionalism and unity across our sport," Edwards said.

"Australian cricket governance changes ushered in by the Crawford and Carter Review are now bedded down in a system that focusses on professional leadership and management in the interest of the national game.

"The Argus Review has, in parallel, delivered important high-performance cricket changes that see all of Australian cricket pulling in the same direction as we seek sustained international success for our men’s and women’s teams.

"As I leave the game, I want to thank and congratulate the more than 50,000 volunteers who are the lifeblood of Australian cricket, providing our great game with the foundations to be Australia’s favourite sport and a sport for all Australians."