Cricket Australia’s first female boss ‘a long way off’ according to hall of fame inductee

The Ashes have been retained and Australia’s women’s cricket team are unstoppable on the field, but the latest inductee to Cricket Australia’s Hall of Fame believes the game’s first female CEO is still “a long way off”.

After representing her country and becoming its most capped female Test player, Christina Matthews wanted to remain at the heart of the game and spent 12 years as chief executive in her adopted state of Western Australia, before stepping down last December.

Christina Matthews has been inducted into the Australian cricket hall of fame.Credit: Chris Hopkins

“I’ve had people who tell me I’m difficult to deal with, and that usually comes from people who I disagree with, who I challenge what they’re doing,” Matthews said.

“I think you can only ever be true to yourself and what you believe in and whatever happens around that so be it.

“There are different standards in terms of how women and men administrators are judged. You know, I’ve been told in the past that I’m a really good administrator for a woman. You kind of want to say ‘and what’s the difference’?”

During her tenure at WA Cricket, the state won 14 elite-level titles across Australia’s women’s and men’s domestic competitions and produced 31 international players. Despite her achievements as an administrator, Matthews doubted that she had a real shot of securing the game’s top role.

Christina Matthews (with gloves) celebrating while playing for Australia in 1987Credit: Cricket Australia

“I never really thought it was going to be anything because people kept telling me it was a man’s job and I hadn’t had enough experience; [that] being a state CEO was no preparation for being CEO of Cricket Australia,” Matthews said.

“So I had plenty of people telling me why I wouldn’t get it. I just wanted the opportunity to present my ideas and understand where I thought the game would go. So I got to do that, it was really good. I got good feedback from some of the directors about that and you know, you move on.”

Matthews feels that while having a female at the head of the boardroom at Cricket Australia is still far away, she hopes to be proved wrong.

“I think it’s a long way off, I tend to think we’re closer to having a female Chair of Cricket Australia than we are a female CEO, but things move quickly,” she said.

In October, Matthews began work at the Australian Cricketers’ Association and has always been driven to represent the players.

When Cameron Bancroft was found guilty of ball-tampering in Cape Town in 2018 alongside David Warner and Steve Smith and served a nine-month suspension, Matthews worked closely with him.

She believes Bancroft’s actions in South Africa ultimately counted against him far more than Warner and Smith.

“I think he was the most dispensable, and he hadn’t established himself in the Australian team,” Matthews said.

“Everybody has their challenges, and I’m not saying the other two [Warner and Smith] didn’t have challenges, but you know, Cam has to constantly prove himself over and over again, and I think it’s made him a really strong individual, and it’s made him understand and appreciate every day, rather than looking too far ahead.”

Matthews will be at the MCG to support Australia in the Ashes Test and is desperately hoping for a clean sweep of England.