New South Wales withdrew its support, and Mike Baird is standing down as Cricket Australia chair
The former NSW premier leaves at the AGM in late October after his home state turned against him over the Big Bash sale, and David Boon steps in as interim chair.
Sep 28, 2026
Mike Baird is standing down as chair of Cricket Australia, and the reason is his own state. New South Wales told him it would not nominate him to the CA board again and would not back him for an independent seat either, so the former NSW premier has chosen to go at the annual general meeting in late October. David Boon, who played 107 Tests for Australia, will take over as interim chair while CA looks for a permanent replacement.
“After much consideration, I have decided to stand down as CA chair and director,” Baird said in his statement. He has been chair since February 2023.
The Big Bash split
The fight was over money, and over who owns the Big Bash League. Baird and chief executive Todd Greenberg have been the loudest voices for bringing private investors into the competition, and earlier this month the CA board approved a model that lets each state association sell up to 49 per cent of its BBL club.
Not every state wanted it. Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania backed the plan. South Australia was described as lukewarm. New South Wales and Queensland opposed it. NSW’s argument was that private equity would be a sugar hit, and that Australian cricket needed structural reform to fix its finances rather than a one-off cash injection.
The board went ahead anyway. The Melbourne Renegades, run by CA itself, are the first club on the market, with bids invited for the whole club. CA will keep running the Renegades through the 2026-27 BBL and WBBL seasons, and the aim is for new owners to take over from 2027-28.
That is where Baird ran out of road. He could have moved into an independent seat on the board, but he did not want to continue without the support of every state. His exit does not stop the privatisation. The Renegades sale goes on.
What Baird leaves behind
Baird used his statement to point at the numbers. He said CA would report record revenue, profit, attendance and viewership this year, and a 40 per cent increase in participation over the past four years. He also called Greenberg “the best sports administrator in the country”. Nobody reading that will think Baird has gone off the privatisation plan.
Indian fans will notice one knock-on effect. Baird also gives up his place at the International Cricket Council, where he had built a close working relationship with ICC chair Jay Shah, so Cricket Australia will send someone new to the ICC table.
Boon steps in
Boon joined the CA board in 2025. He was one of Australia’s selectors from 2000 to 2011 and then an ICC match referee, a job he gave up to join the board. He now chairs it at a time when the biggest question in Australian domestic cricket is who will own its clubs.
“It is an enormous honour to take the role of interim CA chair during what is a hugely exciting and also challenging time,” Boon said.
Challenging is the word. He takes charge with two of the country’s biggest states still opposed to a sale that is already under way, and with a permanent chair still to be found.