On Wednesday, Cricket Australia (CA) announced that Earl Eddings will become the new permanent chairman of the board. The decision has been taken after four weeks after taking up the post on a temporary basis when David Peever was forced to resign.

Describing the appointment, Cricket Australia said, “A director on the board for the 10 years, Eddings would serve until next October’s annual general meeting when the post would be filled by a candidate nominated after consultation with the state associations.”

Eddings takes on the role at a difficult time for the game in Australia after last year’s bitter pay dispute with the players was followed by a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March that rocked the sport. Peever resigned a little more than a week after being re-elected for a second three-year cycle, bowing to public pressure in the wake of a brutal review of the board’s governance and culture.

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Describing the same, CA director Jacquie Hey said, “There’s no question this year has been a challenging one for cricket and for Cricket Australia. Our aim is to ensure management is empowered to rebuild trust and strengthen the game. Earl’s involvement over the past decade provides continuity in a time of change and enables the board to maintain strong relations with the ICC (cricket’s governing body), other member countries and our valued partners.”

The Longstaff report, which was not released until after Peever’s second term was secured, found that the board was partially involved in Cape Town which led to bans for Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. The report stated that CA was perceived as “arrogant” and “controlling” by stakeholders and had nurtured a culture of “winning without counting the costs”.

Describing the scenario, Eddings said, “Cricket is only what it is in Australia because of the commitment of our people, the fans and the thousands of volunteers around the country. I am honored to serve in this position and am committed to making cricket stronger and a game that we can all be proud of.”