2 weeks Ago By Daniel Brettig
One of Todd Greenberg’s most important conversations as Cricket Australia’s new boss took place some weeks before he formally started the job. But it was fitting that it happened on cricket’s biggest stage, during its greatest occasion of the year. At the Boxing Day Test against India, which was attended by a record 373,691 spectators, Greenberg had a lengthy and highly animated conversation with Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins in the seats in front of the Harrison Room at the MCG.
New Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg. Credit: Wayne Taylor During Nick Hockley’s eventful tenure at CA, former Sydney Thunder and Cricket Tasmania chief Cummins was often the loudest dissenting voice to Greenberg’s predecessor. This was something Greenberg had observed at close quarters as Australian Cricketers Association chief, during meetings with Hockley and state and territory CEOs.
More broadly, the central body had been mired in debates with its state association owners for nearly a decade, dating back to the Newlands scandal and a scathing cultural review . Since then, two chairs – David Peever and Earl Eddings – were forced out by the states, either side of CEO Kevin Roberts also being pushed . Greenberg won’t divulge details of the conversation that took place in his final week as Australian Cricketers’ Association boss.
But he was happy to admit he has made it very clear to Cummins and others that he wants collaborative and trusting relationships with cricket leaders from across the spectrum, the better to do things such as achieving their ambition to make the Big Bash League No.2 to the IPL , and grow the game for all. For his part, Cummins was refreshed by the conversation’s frankness, and has heartily endorsed Greenberg’s work so far.
“The conversation with Nick – I think you’ll see more of that and there should be more of that,” Greenberg tells this masthead. “Particularly, someone like Nick who’s got a decade-plus of experience working in cricket. I don’t have that experience, so I’d be mad not to listen to him.
“I don’t walk into this job thinking I know everything. I probably know less than a lot of people looking around the room. But what I can bring is my perspectives from other parts of my career to help cricket.
What [the states] will get from me is really honest and open conversation, honest views from me, and if I can’t do something I’ll tell them. “Healthy conflict is OK. But that doesn’t mean we’ll be having public spats through the media.
If revenue grows, then the two groups that win most are the states and the players. So aligning the interests to grow revenue means everybody wins.”.
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