The New Zealand Cricket (NZC) governing body has unveiled former national team player Geoff Allott as its new chief executive (CEO).
This comes after the previous incumbent of that role, Scott Weenink, stepped down in January (having only announced his departure the month before).
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Allott – who played 41 games for the Black Caps men's national team between 1996 and 2000 – will officially move into his new position on July 1.
In terms of cricket administration experience, he has already served as an NZC director for eight years, between 2013 and 2021, before retiring as a part of the board's rotational process, while between 2008 and 2010 he was the body's general manager of cricket.
Outside cricket, meanwhile, he is also executive director at the Quality New Zealand firm, which aims to provide a range of NZ-based products and services specifically to the Indian market, partly through the use of cricket personalities as brand ambassadors.
NZC has also noted his "strong business and relationship experience, particularly in terms of India and South Africa," as an attribute for this role.
Allott stated: "I look forward to working collaboratively with the board, players, staff, member associations, and our commercial partners to build strong relationships, foster a positive and constructive culture, and deliver outstanding results both on and off the field.”
Diana Puketapu-Lyndon, chair of New Zealand Cricket, added: "We're confident [Allott's] playing background, institutional knowledge, business acumen, and international outlook make him exceptionally well placed to lead NZC through the next phase of growth and development."
Upon his departure, Weenink cited significant differences of opinion with bodies including the country’s players’ association regarding “future priorities of NZC and long-term direction of the game.”
This was specifically referring to the future of domestic Twenty20 cricket in the country – late March saw NZC unveil its vision for that format of the sport, with a new competition – the NZ20 – set to launch.
The NZ20 – likely to be run independently, with teams managed by private owners – will replace the Super Smash, which has existed as a six-team competition (with both men's and women's editions) since 2005, with those sides run by the six regional cricket associations in the country.
The idea behind inviting private owners to run teams is primarily to bring in more capital and allow the teams to buy better players and thus raise the overall appeal of domestic cricket in the country.
At present, New Zealand is arguably the only major cricket-playing nation without a high-profile T20 league. Domestic T20 franchise cricket has become a major part of the sport's calendar in markets such as India, Australia, England, and South Africa.
