The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Australian Geoff Allardice as its permanent CEO.

Geoff served as the interim CEO of the game’s governing body for over eight months. Allardice subsequently replaced Manu Sawhney following his resignation in July. 

In a statement released by the International Cricket Council, Allardice said “It’s a great privilege to be appointed as the CEO of the ICC and I would like to thank Greg and the ICC Board for the opportunity to lead the sport as we enter an exciting new phase of growth.” He continued by saying, “My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with members to deliver long-term success and sustainability.I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve cricket with such a talented team.”

Allardice has been in the reckoning for a long time and has served in different capacities in the sport. Also, he played cricket at the highest level as he was a former Australian first-class cricketer.
He was an administrator in the sport for many years and the ICC General Manager for eight years. Before this, he was active in Cricket Australia.

In a congratulatory message, Greg Barclay, ICC Chair said, “I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO permanently. He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.” Furthermore, Greg continued his praise, “Geoff has unrivalled the global cricket landscape and its stakeholders and has consistently demonstrated he is the right person to work in partnership with our members to shape the sport for the next decade as we embark on delivering a new strategy and our next commercial rights cycle.”

Geoff’s predecessor, Sawhney came under scrutiny for what is tagged as “abrasive behaviour” with colleagues and had to step aside in March pending an inquiry into his actions. This culminated in his resignation in July.