Message from the CEO - Justin Vaughan

New Zealand Cricket CEO Justin Vaughan gives an update about our high performing teams, development, the business of cricket and the wider cricket community.

High Performing Teams

• The BLACKCAPS have started their test series against the world-champion Indians with a huge degree of heart and commitment earning hard fought draws in the first two test matches before the disappointment of the third Test.
• A Team – our A team returned from a very successful tour to Zimbabwe recently, where the team won the 4-day “test” series 2-0. There were many outstanding individual performances during the series, and a number of this team were rewarded with call-ups into the BLACKCAPS unit for the test series in India.
• The start of a new season is upon us – with the Plunket Shield now well underway and already some standout performances noted. It is great to see the return of summer.
• The White Ferns have been training hard with a recent camp held at Lincoln with the goal being to win back the Rose Bowl from the Australians over the summer. The series to decide the Rose Bowl will include 5 T20 internationals and 3 ODIs, so the White Ferns need to win 5 of the 8 total games to successfully bring the Bowl back.
• High Performance Strategy – Geoff Allott has been working for some time on the development of a new HP strategy. The strategy is to be finalised in the near future, with this then referred to the newly formed Cricket Committee (see below) for review. It has been a significant piece of work pulling together this strategy and should ensure that resources around elite level of the game are allocated optimally for future success.
• Geoff Allott – it is sad that Geoff has signalled his intention to depart New Zealand Cricket at the end of this month. I know Geoff has made this decision in the best interests of NZC, and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours. His passion and enthusiasm will be greatly missed.

Sustainable Development

• The national development programme is a great success and has shown consistent growth since its introduction in 2002. This year the programme, led by Mark Lane, is targeting further growth in participation – with an overall goal of achieving 110,000 enrolled players.
• There is specific emphasis being placed this year on growing our number of female cricketers, enhancing the secondary schools area, as well as boosting numbers going through our well-established MILO centres.
• The focus on women’s cricket has been guided by the development of a new Women’s Strategy – led by Sara McGlashan, Catherine Campbell and Gary Stead (assisted by Pat Barwick), which is a fantastic blueprint for future growth and success in the women’s game.
• Mark Lane will be leading a similar piece of work over the summer in terms of creating a new strategy for secondary schools cricket.

Business of Cricket

• There has been a lot of effort gone in to capitalise on the success of last year’s HRV Cup with this year’s competition starting on December 2nd. The timing of this year’s event is a great opportunity to explore the potential for a December “window” into the future. December has not been a traditional month for cricket spectator interest in New Zealand; however the great success of last year leads us to be optimistic that the new timing will work well. The inclusion of high-profile international players, as well as the availability of the BLACKCAPS over the last few rounds of the competition all add to what should be a cracking competition
• A few months ago we announced the conclusion of a groundbreaking new partnership agreement with the NZ Cricket Players’ Association. The new 8-year Master Agreement sees NZC, NZCPA and the Major Associations “joined at the hip” forcing us ride the peaks and troughs together. The oversight of this new agreement will be the domain of the newly created Professional Cricket Advisory Group (PCAG). The first major challenge ahead for the PCAG is to find solutions to solve the current appreciation of the NZ/US dollar exchange rate. As a majority of our income is earnt in US dollars, this leaves real challenges when exchange rates appreciate (as they have currently). The immediate solutions need to be a combination of maximising revenue and prudent management of costs.
• The issues around the NZ/US exchange rate re-emphasises the need for us to search for new revenue opportunities outside of our normal areas. The relationship with the United States of America Cricket Association and the opportunity to play games in Florida last year was one example of this – and through which we learnt good lessons. Innovation and an entrepreneurial approach are required as we look to further grow a more diversified revenue base.
• Dave Mills is currently leading the project which will see new accounting and payroll systems implemented into NZC and our Major Associations over the next 6 months. This is a significant piece of work, but one that will see us better placed to provide accurate, timely and valuable financial information to assist business requirements in the future.

Family of Cricket

• New Zealand Cricket’s Annual General Meeting was held recently in Wellington. It was a well-organised and smoothly-run event, which saw the induction of two new Life Members, Sir Richard Hadlee and Iain Gallaway.
• The day before the AGM the annual Districts Forum was held, also in Wellington. This event, coordinated by Kerry Dellaca and Mark Lane discussed many of the pressing issues related to cricket in our 22 Districts. Feedback from this meeting has been very positive.
• Planning is commencing around our hosting of the World Cup in 2015. Cricket World Cup 2015 (or CWC2015) will be a major event for cricket in this country (and also in Australia with whom we are co-hosting).
• At the AGM in Wellington, Rob Hart was elected as a new Director on the Board of NZC. Rob has a deep background in cricket, having played internationally as well as captaining Northern Districts for many years. He also brings significant legal skills to the Board – being a practicing lawyer.
• A Board meeting was held on October 22nd and at this meeting Chris Moller was reaffirmed as Chairman. The Board also announced the creation of a new Cricket Committee, which will comprise four current Directors (Stephen Boock, who will chair the Committee, Rob Hart, Chris Moller and Sir John Hansen) and up to three independent members. The Terms of Reference for the Cricket Committee are currently being developed.

Culture of Excellence

• Over the next few months we shall commence planning for the creation of a new strategic plan for New Zealand Cricket, to take effect from the end of the current financial year. This process will be a great chance to reflect on where we are currently and where we wish to be in the future. Further information regarding the process will be communicated shortly, but everyone will have the opportunity to input into the development of the new plan.
• A special note of congratulations to Owen Harrison and Michaela Rees in the Commercial team. They have both been selected by ICC for secondment to the Cricket World Cup early next year. This is a great chance for both to pick up valuable experience at a really high-profile international event. Well done and good luck.