Mike Baird has been nominated to join Cricket Australia’s corridor of power

Cricket Australia’s nominations committee is currently considering former NSW Premier Mike Baird as a high-profile addition to its board.

Former NSW Premier Mike Baird. Picture: Britta Campion

Former NSW Premier Mike Baird has been officially nominated to join the Cricket Australia board, where it’s hoped he can add some much-needed clout inside the game’s corridors of power.

Baird’s name is currently before CA’s four-person nominations committee, with the process still being worked through.

There is an expectation in some circles that the ex-leader of the NSW Liberal Party is poised take a seat as a director at a time when cricket is fighting to bounce back from the COVID-19 crisis that has floored world sport, however, sources say that assumption is still premature, with the process ongoing.

Cricket Australia has two vacancies coming up on its board ahead of its annual general meeting next month and Baird’s barrow has been pushed strongly by Cricket NSW, who rate his leadership credentials highly at a time when the game needs it.

Baird was Premier of NSW from 2014 to 2017 and has been a director on the Cricket NSW board since last year, bringing with him a wealth of experience with dealing in both the political and corporate worlds.

The 52-year-old is a genuine lover of cricket. He played Shires level cricket as a left-arm fast bowler on the northern beaches of Sydney and is a long-serving patron of Manly Warringah District Cricket Club.

During his time as Premier, Manly won the competition, it’s understood Baird invited the team into his office at Parliament House to sing the team song.

When the local council installed new nets at Manly’s third and fourth ground, Baird was there to open them.

NSW already has a representative on the CA board in Richard Freudenstein, but it’s understood the former Foxtel boss could move into an independent seat to make room for Baird.