Cricket: Former players in running for NZC board

Current chairman of New Zealand Cricket Chris Moller. Photo / Ross Setford

Those who had bemoaned a lack of cricket-specific expertise on New Zealand Cricket's board should be appeased by personnel recommended for the revamped board.

New Zealand's greatest cricketer, Sir Richard Hadlee, is one of three former internationals, along with Martin Snedden and Geoff Allott, who have been chosen by an NZC appointments panel to form the board when it convenes a special general meeting in Auckland next Thursday.

The eight will be voted on by delegates to the meeting and each must receive more than 50 per cent of the votes cast to be elected.

The board will then choose from that number the new chairman to replace the outgoing Chris Moller.

Hadlee, whose 431 test wickets are the highest by a New Zealander, has also done time as a national selector, while Snedden and Allott are both former NZC employees, as chief executive and general manager respectively.

Snedden was also Rugby NZ 2011 boss, and has been heading the Tourism Industry Association for the last year.

Former international spinner Stephen Boock, in his role as NZC president, chaired the appointments panel, which included Sport New Zealand's representative Sir John Wells, and three of the six major association chairmen: Lachlan Muldowney (Northern Districts), Murray Hughes (Otago) and Rex Smith (Auckland).

Boock said there had been strong interest in the positions, because of the process being opened to anyone who wished to put their name forward, unlike the old system where a nomination had to come through an association.

"It was a difficult job selecting from a range of quality nominees," Boock said. "I am confident that through this thorough process we have found a group of people with the combined skill sets to drive cricket forward."

The other five people recommended are current board members Stuart Heal, Greg Barclay and Don Mackinnon, the founder and chairman of investment firm Craigs Investment Partners, Neil Craig; and prominent company director Liz Dawson, who sits on the boards of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, New Zealand Racing and Hurricanes rugby franchise.