Cricket Victoria: St Kilda premiership batsman Shaun Richardson to run for board

With Phil Hyde and Jane Nathan up for re-election, candidates are starting to emerge for the Cricket Victoria board elections next month.

Shaun Richardson batting for Caulfield.

Shaun Richardson made his share of runs in Victorian Premier Cricket and lots of them in Sub-District cricket.

Now he’s making a run for the Cricket Victoria board.

Richardson, 48, a business banking executive with NAB, confirmed this afternoon he would be contesting the board elections on August 31.

Phil Hyde and Jane Nathan are up for re-election.

Richardson said he was approached some time ago to stand, had thought about it and decided to give it a go.

He said he believed he had something to offer.

Jane Nathan of Cricket Victoria.

Fitzroy-Doncaster and Ringwood will be the clubs nominating him.

Richardson is a former employee of Cricket Victoria – he worked as commercial sales and sponsorship manager – and was at Melbourne Storm as sponsorship and sales manager from 2006 to 2009.

“I’ve always had an interest in sports administration,’’ he said.

“I’ve done a Masters of business sport management and when I looked at it from the mix of skills I’ve got, from business and my involvement in cricket and working in sport …. I thought there was enough there in my background and my experience to add some value.

“Electing me would be an opportunity for generational change, someone with more recent, hands-on cricket involvement, with strong business acumen – my role with the NAB is about leadership, financial analysis, negotiations, strategy development and execution – and sporting experience bundled in.’’

A determined right-hand batsman, Richardson played Premier Cricket at Dandenong and then St Kilda, where he figured in a First XI premiership.

He played a total of 90 First XI matches, scoring 2291 runs at 28.28, before crossing to Sub-District club Caulfield in 2002-03.

One of the best Subbies players of the past 20 years, he was a premiership captain and coach with the Fielders and had two stints as president, including last season when he stepped in at short notice.

Shaun Richardson

Richardson had 151 First XI matches for Caulfield, cracking 3934 runs at 33.91, with eight centuries. He is fourth on the club’s all-time run list.

Richardson now has no official involvement with the Fielders and he said the time was right to pursue another area of the game.

“I don’t have a genuine club role for the first time in 20 years as a player/coach or administrator, and now this opportunity presented and it’s a good time to try to make something of it.’’

He said he had no concerns with the way Cricket Victoria had been operating in recent years.

Richardson said he had alerted VSDCA president Phil O’Meara and secretary Ken Hilton to his candidacy.

He said he was doing a ring-around of the 18 Premier clubs, the VSDCA, women’s cricket, VCCL and VMCU seeking their support, and had received positive feedback.

It’s believed David Talalla, the MCC competitions convener and a Cricket Australia match referee, will also run.

Nominations close on August 2 and the AGM is on August 30.