Despite Glasgow Rangers suffering from somewhat of a rather underwhelming start to the season, they find themselves siting top of their Europa League group, are into the League Cup semi-finals and remain four points adrift of Celtic after six Premiership matches.

The performances haven’t been great for the vast majority of the 2023/24 campaign thus far, with Michael Beale failing to inspire his side to playing exciting, attacking football.

Things finally came to a head following the recent 1-0 victory over Motherwell as the raucous Ibrox crowd showered Beale with boos come the full time whistle, perhaps giving an indication at the mood surrounding the club right now.

Four clean sheets in the previous four games indicates a vast improvement defensively, especially considering they kept only two in their opening nine games before the international break.

Beale was certainly aiming to sign another defender during the dying embers of the summer transfer window and could this perhaps turn out to be a major mistake?

The 43-year-old could potentially have done with the services of a former Gers centre-back who played under Steven Gerrard but is now a captain for a Premier League side – Joe Worrall.

When did Rangers sign Joe Worrall?

After a few chastising seasons back in the top flight, the Gers turned to former Liverpool captain and England icon Gerrard as the man to guide the club back to the summit of Scottish football.

It represented a massive gamble by the Ibrox side as Gerrard had never managed a senior club before, yet it eventually turned into a wonderful decision.

His first season was certainly a baptism of fire however, as he signed a few flops while struggling to maintain any sort of consistency in the league while failing to reach a domestic cup final.

One of his signings was that of Worrall, who joined on a season long loan from Nottingham Forest during the final couple of days of the summer transfer window and aged just 21 at the time and with 56 appearances for Forest behind him, it looked like it could be a decent acquisition.

What happened to Joe Worrall?

With Rangers qualifying for the group stages of a European competition for the first time since the 2010/11 season, the capture of Worrall looked like it could bolster his defence and form a key partnership alongside fellow compatriot Connor Goldson.

Unfortunately, his spell in Glasgow didn’t quite work out as expected, with the defender failing to get up to speed with the physicality of Scottish football.

40

47.6

4.6

3.6

1.2

1.8

3.6

3.8

5

9.2

Overall, the Englishman played 32 matches across all competitions for the Gers – netting once – during his sole campaign, and perhaps it was too much expectation for a player who was simply too young to fully comprehend the pressures of playing for the club.

He even admitted himself that he didn’t do as well as hoped, yet enjoyed his spell in Glasgow, saying:

“My loan at Rangers, I’m so so thankful for. I loved my time up there, unbelievable football club. The size of it, Steven Gerrard being the manager was a massive pull.

"I thought it was a prank call. He’s my hero. I loved watching him as a player, it was unbelievable to play for him.

I did find it tough, a long way from Nottingham and I’m a big home boy. Massive learning curve at Rangers.”

It's safe to say he was dreadful under Gerrard but has gone on to impress down South in recent seasons.

Where is Joe Worrall now?

Having returned to parent club Forest in the summer of 2019, Worrall went on to become a first team regular for the Championship side, going on to make 81 appearances over the next two seasons.

The club finally ended a 23-year wait to return to the top flight by winning the playoff final during the 2021/22 campaign and Worrall was excellent. He helped his side keep 16 clean sheets across 39 games while also winning 5.4 total duels per game – a success rate of 63% – and he certainly demonstrated his qualities.

These displays clearly impressed Steve Cooper, who appointed the defender as his captain ahead of their first Premier League season of the 21st century, and he once again stepped up to the plate as the club managed to avoid relegation.

Across the whole Forest squad, Worrall ranked seventh for overall Sofascore rating (6.82), along with ranking second for accurate passes per game (28.6), fifth for tackles per game (1.8) and sixth for clearances per game (3.6), indicating that he was among Forest’s better performers during their return to the top flight.

The 6 foot 3 titan has played five out of Forest’s six matches during the 2023/24 season, and although they have kept just one clean sheet during those matches, Worrall has won 3.6 total duels per game and lost possession just five times on average per game, showing how confident he is on the ball.

The centre-back was even praised by BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray for his attitude recently following the sad passing of his uncle. He said:

"Obviously we send our condolences to Joe and his family. To produce that kind of footballing performance, against the backdrop of such tragedy, does him a huge service.

"He was absolutely fantastic and he didn't put a foot wrong against Chelsea. I was delighted for him because he's had to come through a few moments, where fans questioned him, when Forest got promoted to the Premier League. But he looked every inch a Premier League defender.”

If you asked any Rangers fan five years ago whether Worrall would end up captaining a team in the Premier League, while also looking established in one of the finest leagues in Europe, they would have laughed.

Worrall has certainly used his poor spell North of the border as motivation to go and improve his all-round game, and it has paid off in recent seasons.

There is no doubt he could add something extra to Beale’s squad at this current moment in time and although no manager has a crystal ball, perhaps giving the youngster another chance at the club may have worked out well for the Light Blues.

Nat Watkins’ affinity for the Royal Selangor Club track has become readily apparent after his second fifty and second Player-of-the-Match award of the week on the ground in Jersey’s 10-run win over Malaysia via the DLS Method. Watkins followed his 86 three days ago in a loss to Denmark with a 79 against the tournament hosts in Jersey’s total of 270 for 8.The bulk of Jersey’s runs came during an 87-run stand with Ben Stevens (47 off 59 balls). Unlike on Monday when Jersey stuttered in the last 20 overs after a solid platform had been laid by the two left-arm spinning allrounders, the middle order powered on behind a run-a-ball 52 from Nick Ferraby.Malaysia had reached 116 for 1 in 27 overs but Watkins struck a crucial blow as rain began to fall at Royal Selangor, removing Ahmed Faiz for 47 at the start of the 28th. When the over was finished, play was halted and the wicket skewed the revised target slightly in Jersey’s favour once the rain stopped, with Malaysia needing a further 115 in the final 14 overs of a 42-over chase.Virandeep Singh played the anchor role as Suhan Alagaratnam (28 off 24 balls) and Muhammad Syahadat took a license to swing big in the aim of keeping the required run rate from climbing into double-digits. Malaysia needed 28 off 19 balls when Syahadat was run out after an indecision with Virandeep over a second run.With Malaysia’s long tail exposed following the loss of Syahadat, Cornelis Bodenstein struck twice in the 40th over while conceding just four runs. Eight came from the 41st off Anthony Hawkins-Kay, leaving Virandeep on strike to get 15 off the last over. The lanky opener struck a four off the second ball but after a dot on the third ball, he was caught off the fourth for 83.With 11 needed off two balls, Muhammad Wafiq couldn’t get either of Bodenstein’s last two deliveries away and the left-arm seamer ended with 3 for 23 with a brilliant death-bowling spell to boot. The win keeps Jersey in the hunt for promotion at 2-2 while Malaysia’s chances of moving up a division, which once looked very promising after starting with two wins, are now hanging by a thread after back-to-back losses.

KL Rahul struck 94 off 60 and Andrew Tye claimed 4 for 16 but Kings XI finished on the losing side

The Report by Nikhil Kalro16-May-20184:53

Agarkar: Kings XI shouldn’t have sent Axar in at No.5

Mumbai Indians had so much to overcome. First, they were asked to bat in favourable chasing conditions. Then, Andrew Tye claimed his third four-for in four games, his 4 for 16 limiting Mumbai to 186. And then another excellently paced chase from KL Rahul put Mumbai on the brink of elimination. Faced with all that adversity, Mumbai needed both skill and luck. They were blessed to have two key players, Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard, performing at their best.Bumrah finished with 3 for 15, but the coup de grace came in his final over, the penultimate of the game. With 22 runs to defend off 12 balls, he conceded just six and had Rahul caught at long-off. Mitchell McClenaghan did just enough in the final over to ensure a three-run win, carrying Mumbai’s fight into the final weekend of the regular season.But it was Pollard, brought back into Mumbai’s side, that stunned Kings XI with a 23-ball 50. He ensured Mumbai had enough to defend and gave them just enough room for error.Aiming for above parAfter losing the toss, Mumbai may have reset their target, aiming for more than par to make up for favourable chasing conditions: small boundaries and the plausibility of dew in the second innings. That may have forced their top order to not only attack from the outset, but remain aggressive irrespective of the start. With a strong middle order, it was the right decision in a must-win game.Even though Evin Lewis was bowled for 9, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan’s attacking intent ensured the run rate didn’t slip. Together, they faced 27 balls and hit four fours and four sixes, putting Mumbai on course. But there was always the chance of additional risk resulting in wickets.Kishan was caught at mid-on, attempting to heave Tye across the line. Suryakumar was caught behind off the thigh pad off the next ball. And when Rohit Sharma’s mistimed pull found mid-on, Mumbai were caught in an awkward position at 71 for 4 in the ninth over. Most of Mumbai’s problems were down to Tye’s unique skill – swerving knuckle balls – which forced them to reassess their innings.Keep goingKeeping with Mumbai’s modus operandi, Krunal Pandya and Pollard too showed no inclination to take their innings deep. After a five-minute delay due to a floodlight failure and a six-run 11th over, Krunal chipped a six over fine leg. Nine boundaries followed in 22 balls and Mumbai were back on track again.Again, at no point did Mumbai change tactics. That approach, however, resulted in four wickets in five overs and a significant loss of momentum. Eventually, Mumbai scored just 35 runs in the last five overs, but with 186, they were above par anyway.A chase that slipped awayThis season, Rahul has shown his ability to pace a T20 chase. Aware of Kings XI’s depleted resources in the middle order, Aaron Finch and Rahul didn’t go all-out in the middle overs, taking only calculated risks or capitalising on errant deliveries to keep Kings XI alive. Their tactic worked. With 60 required off the last five overs, Kings XI had a fair chance.Rahul and Finch took Mayank Markande’s third over, the 16th of the innings, for 18 runs. Suddenly, an equation of 42 off 24 gave Kings XI more than fair chance. But Bumrah’s excellent final spell, 2-0-10-3, and wickets at inopportune moments meant Kings XI’s playoffs chances took a heavy beating.

Newcastle United are now planning a January clear out, with multiple players now in line to leave, in order to raise funds for Eddie Howe.

What's the latest Newcastle transfer news?

Newcastle are making progress towards agreeing new contracts with two key first-team players, as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has reported that Bruno Guimaraes has agreed to extend his stay at St. James' Park until 2028, despite interest from Liverpool.

The Magpies are also set to open talks over a new deal with Joelinton, with the 27-year-old "very happy" at the club, and now "ready to commit" to a new contract, so Howe is set to secure the long-term futures of two of his midfielders.

However, potential new arrivals are still being considered, with it recently being reported that Bayer Leverkusen's Piero Hincapie could be brought in, as CBS reporter Ben Jacobs believes they will be in the market for a new centre-back at some point in 2024.

Hincapie is expected to cost around £35m, so Newcastle would need to be willing to spend a sizeable amount to secure his signature in January, at a time when they have to be careful due to Financial Fair Play.

Speaking to CaughtOffside, Jacobs said: "It’s important to understand that Newcastle can’t break the bank because of Financial Fair Play. Just because they got into Europe once they can’t necessarily just change their model.

“Now that they have Champions League football, players will want higher wages, but Newcastle have done well to ensure they don’t have one stand-out earner. They have to be conservative, and that’s why I also sense they’ll be in for a quieter January.”

As such, the Magpies may need to make a few sales to raise funds for the January window, and Football Insider report they are now ready to sell multiple fringe players. With Howe's side aiming to adapt to the addition of European games to the calendar, they are considering adding multiple players in the January transfer window, but abiding by Financial Fair Play rules is a real concern at St. James' Park.

Who could Newcastle sell in January?

The report names Martin Dubravka, Mark Gillespie, Emil Krafth, Javi Manquillo, Loris Karius and Paul Dummett as the players who could potentially be sold this winter, having failed to play a single minute this season.

It makes sense to allow the majority of those players to leave, besides the back-up goalkeeper options, who could be called upon in the cup competitions. It is clear that Newcastle are having a hard time abiding by FFP, as they were unable to bring in Kieran Tierney or Marc Cucurella on permanent deals in the summer transfer window, instead being forced to consider signing them on loan.

The deal to sign Lewis Hall from Chelsea was structured to defer the payment, with Howe confirming they had to be "creative" to get the move over the line.

As such, the Magpies should undoubtedly look to move on a number of their fringe players in January, particularly considering they are eyeing some exciting new signings, including Hincapie, who could cost £35m.

One position that is key in Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea system, is the wingers, pinning fullbacks high and wide, looking to provide the team with output and being isolated in 1v1 scenarios as often as possible.

However, the Italian has lost his most productive wide option to injury, Noni Madueke, who has netted eight times this season, also providing four assists and totalling 1,653 minutes played.

This leaves Maresca with just Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho as his senior wide options, as the Blues also lost another winger due to suspension back in December last year.

Mykhailo Mudryk's time at Chelsea

Chelsea announced in December 2024, that Ukrainian winger, Mykhailo Mudryk had been provisionally suspended by the FA after testing positive for a banned substance.

This came after making 15 appearances for the Blues this season, scoring three goals, providing five assists and totalling 849 minutes played.

Whilst a large majority of Mudryk’s minutes came in the UEFA Conference League (523 minutes), losing the 24-year-old has still affected Maresca’s squad, as they are now left with just two natural senior wingers after Madueke’s injury.

The Blues signed Mudryk in January 2023, with an initial fee of around £62m with up to a further £27m in bonuses. The Ukrainian is now valued at €38.5m (£31.8m) according to Football Transfers, but that is still more than a certain other Chelsea man…

The Chelsea star who's now worth less than Mudryk

Reece James was once valued as high as £57.4m according to FootballTtransfers, but over the past few seasons, his value has taken a real hit, following plenty of injury troubles which have kept him off the pitch for prolonged spells.

Player

Value (£)

Cole Palmer

£95.6m

Moises Caicedo

£66.8m

Enzo Fernández

£61.5m

Nicolas Jackson

£59.4m

Pedro Neto

£51.3m

Christopher Nkunku

£49.1m

Levi Colwill

£45.8m

Roméo Lavia

£44.8m

Noni Madueke

£43.4m

Mykhailo Mudryk

£31.8m

The Chelsea captain has managed to make ten appearances for the club this season, scoring one goal, providing one assist, contributing to one clean sheet and totalling 556 minutes played.

The 25-year-old has suffered from reoccurring hamstring problems since 2020, missing a total of 131 games since 2019/20, when James was first introduced to the first-team under Frank Lampard.

When James is fully fit, there is no doubt about his quality, with Kyle Walker even labelling him the “complete” player and revealing why he believes James is the best right-back in the world.

However, having only made 168 appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals, providing 23 assists and totalling 11,503 minutes, his availability will always remain a concern.

James is now valued at €37.4m (£30.9m) according to Football Transfers, which means he isn’t seen as one of Chelsea’s top ten most valuable players, despite being the highest-paid player at the club, as well as being the club captain.

With Chelsea’s new wage structure aiming to pay players based on their value to the side, James could come under consideration if his injury troubles continue, as to whether the Blues need to focus their resources elsewhere.

Market Movers

That likely wouldn’t go down well with Chelsea fans, as James is one of the only academy graduates remaining to have successfully come through the system and become a fully fledged first-teamer – yet if his injury woes remain, an upgrade may be needed.

Better than James & Gusto: Chelsea sold "exceptional" star for just £8m

Chelsea must rue sale of “exceptional” ace who’s been better than James & Gusto

ByConnor Holden Feb 20, 2025

John Knox has been involved in numerous key junctures of Cricket Australia’s recent history, notably playing an advisory role in the television rights negotiations of 2013 and this year

Daniel Brettig04-Jun-2018Longtime Cricket Australia ally and Credit Suisse chief executive John Knox is the new chairman of Cricket New South Wales, after the incumbent John Warn chose to retire from a role he has held since 2013.Warn, a Westfield executive who became chairman amid a period of instability and the exits of Harry Harinath as chairman and David Gilbert as chief executive, had since overseen the association’s growth alongside the CEO Andrew Jones. Through his stint, he’s had to deal with numerous spot-fires, including a rocky relationship with the SCG Trust and last year’s pay dispute between the players, CA and the state associations. He will remain a NSW director while spending more time with family.NSW recently appointed Phil Jaques to replace Trent Johnston as coach of the state team following an underwhelming recent run of results on the field and questions about talent development. Australia’s most populous cricket state played its most recent Sheffield Shield final in 2014.”I have been honoured, proud and humbled to be Cricket NSW Chair. I retire as Chair with great confidence in CNSW’s future,” Warn said. “The time is right for me to invest time back into my family, and pass the reins to John Knox. There is no doubt the challenge for me of balancing work, cricket and young family has been at times a difficult task, but one that I cherish as I love the game so much – I owe the game everything.”I make this decision with my family first, everything else second. The board and I responsibly had a strong succession plan in place, and I would like to formally thank my fellow board members, Cricket NSW Staff, especially CEO Andrew Jones, and all delegate members for their support.”Knox, meanwhile, has been involved in numerous key junctures of CA’s recent history, notably playing an important advisory role in the television rights negotiations of 2013 and this year. The 2013 deal created competition in the marketplace for the first time, as Nine were compelled to pay more than it preferred for the rights to international cricket after Ten made a combined bid for all matches including the Big Bash League. This year’s bid took CA’s broadcast rights value beyond the A$1 billion mark for the first time, albeit with the loss of two out of three international men’s formats from free-to-air television.Prior to those two deals, Knox was influential in drafting the private ownership prospectus for Big Bash League franchises in 2010-11 that ultimately saw CA retain ownership of all teams. He joined the NSW Board in 2014. “I am honoured to have been elected chair of the most successful domestic organisation in world cricket and thank the Cricket NSW Board for its support,” Knox said.”John retires as Chair with NSW Cricket in excellent shape. Much of that is due to his outstanding leadership over the past 5 years. From Day 1 he drove very significant renewal and growth, working in partnership with all players, staff and Directors and our CEO Andrew Jones. This growth has occurred in every area of our operation.”Our professional teams have won every available title in the past five years, including a Sheffield Shield, BBL, two JLT Cups, four WNCLs and four WBBL/WT20s. Meanwhile NSW has regularly provided over half of Australia’s Test teams, including eight of the top-ranked male and female players in the world.”We also led the professionalisation of the Lendlease NSW Breakers in 2016, a landmark moment for cricket and indeed for Australian sport. At pathway level, we have doubled the opportunities for NSW Metro and ACT-NSW Country cricketers while still winning 85% of the titles available. And in community cricket, NSW has passed 400,000 participants for the first time.”Knox also pointed to governance reforms as part of Warn’s legacy. “John has also overseen significant governance reform which has allowed us to increase the quality and diversity of our Board without compromising our members’ rights to choose their representatives,” he said. “John has done all this through a signature combination of integrity, hard work and respect for all NSW Cricket stakeholders.”Our Directors are still volunteers and John has given thousands of hours of his time on top of a demanding job and busy family life. He deserves our warmest thanks and congratulations for an outstanding contribution to NSW cricket.”

Tottenham Hotspur are one of the most interested parties in a promising young defender, but a fresh report has revealed that it won’t be easy to bring him to the Premier League.

Who are the new signings for Tottenham?

Over the summer, Ange Postecoglou’s side recruited plenty of fresh faces in the form of Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Micky Van De Ven, Guglielmo Vicario, Alejo Veliz and Ashley Phillips, all of whom joined on a permanent basis for fees, via Transfermarkt.

Then in N17, Manor Solomon arrived on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk, whilst Dejan Kulusevski turned his initial loan move from Juventus into one for good, but there was a player who didn’t make the switch to the capital despite being heavily linked.

At Galatasaray, Victor Nelsson first arrived at the Rams Park from FC Copenhagen back in 2021 where he’s so far made a total of 91 appearances to date, and despite having another three years remaining on his contract, he was the subject of interest from Daniel Levy.

The Lilywhites were reportedly nearing a deal for the centre-back before the deadline, but it later emerged that the two parties were no longer in talks and that an agreement had never been fully reached, though it sounds like the boss is ready to take a second bite of the cherry for the 24-year-old in the new year.

Are Tottenham signing Victor Nelsson?

According to Turkish outlet Aksam Spor (via Sport Witness), Spurs are one of the sides “keen on signing” Nelsson in January. La Liga outfit Sevilla have also been credited with an interest in the Denmark international, but it’s “especially Tottenham” who are hoping to secure their target’s services.

Galatasaray are currently in negotiations with their young colossus over a new contract, which will include a €30m (£26m) release clause, as they look to fend off interest, though it’s not stated whether Spurs chiefs would be happy to pay that particular fee.

Is Victor Nelsson any good?

According to football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Nelsson is a defensive “monster” for Galatasaray and there’s no doubt that he is a fantastic centre-back when you look at the extremely positive start he’s had to the new campaign.

The Scandinavian is currently averaging three aerial wins and 2.2 clearances per game in the Turkish Super Lig, via WhoScored, highlighting what a physical presence he is both on and off the ground at the heart of the backline, but he’s also capable of playing in two other positions.

The Hornbaek native has the versatility to operate higher up in both defensive and central midfield alongside his usual role in front of his goalkeeper, so he is a player who is easily able to adapt to the demands of his manager with regards to altering formation or team selection.

Having signed Van De Ven and Phillips over the summer, Postecoglou won't be in a rush to address that particular position, but with Eric Dier potentially heading for the exit door, the boss may be tempted to look for cover at the start of next year should his veteran depart.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Red Bull Bragantino deixa Porto Alegre com um gosto amargo. Após um jogo equilibrado em grande parte diante do Grêmio, a equipe teve um apagão de cinco minutos e levou dois gols do rival.

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Na saída de campo, o zagueiro e capitão Léo Ortiz lamentou os ‘castigos’ que o Massa Bruta sofreu na etapa final.

‘Vínhamos de um empate e vitórias que nos tiraram da zona de rebaixamento. Jogamos de igual para igual em boa parte do jogo, mas cometemos alguns erros e fomos castigados por uma equipe como o Grêmio’, afirmou ao SporTV.

Com 19 pontos, o Bragantino está na 18ª colocação e volta a campo pelo torneio no fim de semana, quando encara o Santos, em casa.

An era ended as James Sutherland joined the growing line of departures from Cricket Australia in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, though he insisted that his managed exit after 17 years was the result of more than 24 months of careful discussion with the chairman David Peever.Sutherland served as chief executive since 2001 and oversaw a period of great growth but also turmoil. Most recently, the South Africa tour shone a poor light on the national team and the organisation. However, the game’s financial growth during his time was enormous. Some of the major changes included the formation of the Big Bash League in 2011, the start of day-night Test cricket in 2015, and major increases in broadcast rights deals in 2013 and this year.

James Sutherland’s statement

“Today I’m announcing my intention to stand down as chief executive of Cricket Australia. In advising David [Peever] and the board of my decision I’ve provided 12 months’ notice. It’s my intention to give the board the opportunity to run a thorough process to identify my successor and for me to provide support to the new CEO with the smoothest possible handover. After nearly 20 years at CA and 17 as chief executive, the time is right for me and my family and I think the time is also right for cricket.
“My overwhelming feeling today is a sense of gratitude. I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to do this job and I’ve worked closely with six chairmen. I’d like to thank David and each of his five predecessors for having the confidence in me and for their friendship, support and counsel along the way.
“By far the most inspiring thing about the job that I do is the people that I work with. I love and admire their passion for the game and their dedication to serve the cricket community. In addition to those at CA that includes people in our states and territories and of course the thousands of volunteers across Australia who do a wonderful job for cricket. Any credit to me has only ever been due to the great people around me.
“Finally, thanks to my family. None of our three kids were born when I started work at CA, so in a sense that’s all they know. But it’s my wife Heidi who is the one who really deserves the credit. She’s made her own personal sacrifices for my career and our own family and I can’t thank her enough for her support and understanding.”

It was a measure of Sutherland’s eventful tenure that he sat alongside Peever, who is the sixth he has served alongside, after Denis Rogers, Bob Merriman, Creagh O’Connor, Jack Clarke and Wally Edwards. On the same day Sutherland revealed his intention to depart, Peever confirmed he had the CA Board’s backing to continue for another three years.As such, Peever is looking increasingly like the lone survivor of Newlands and its aftermath, which has so far included bans for the captain Steven Smith, deputy David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the resignation of the coach Darren Lehmann, the hurried removal of the head of integrity – and Cape Town investigator – Iain Roy and now the end of Sutherland’s long stint at the helm. At the same time the former board director Kevin Roberts has been promoted to chief operating officer, a role Sutherland had previously declined to furnish. That places Roberts in the vanguard of a candidate list that may also include the former NSW chairman John Warn, the state’s chief executive and former CA strategist Andrew Jones, and the recently appointed game development chief Belinda Clark.It is believed that the CA Board had wanted Sutherland to outline an exit strategy for quite some time. Peever, who reckoned there would be a “slight bias” towards candidates who are both Australian and insiders to cricket, explained that he and Sutherland had discussed the CEO’s future for almost the entirety of his time since becoming chairman in 2015, with the recent Ashes summer considered an appropriate end point. However, they subsequently agreed he should stay on to see through the completion of a new, A$1.18 billion television rights deal – Newlands took place in between.”When James and I were getting clearer about timing we talked about the end of the successful men’s and women’s Ashes summer as a good juncture,” Peever said in Melbourne. “But then we talked more about it and said we really need to complete the media rights process. There is no good time, there is always something going on in cricket, and so we decided then that after media rights were completed that James would announce.”Clearly, the ball-tampering issue has created upheaval, we’ve got the review process going on. I think it has also helped us understand better the extraordinary passion that Australians have for cricket and the importance of us as administrators to make sure we’re tapping back into that passion and respecting that passion, and indeed our strategy goes very strongly back to fans and grassroots.”The board has asked me to do another term [as chairman] and I’ve agreed to do that. I think at times like this continuity is important, so we have transition to a new CEO, we have leadership changes in the Australia men’s set-up, we have a massive summer coming up which we’re all excited about, we have a World Cup and Ashes next year, we’ve got a World T20 in 2020, we’ve got new financial models, we’ve got new broadcasters, so on the basis of all those things going on, with James transitioning out, I’ve agreed to do another term.”4:24

Brettig: Sutherland will be remembered for the way he handled controversies

Having joined CA as a lieutenant of Malcolm Speed, Sutherland was only 35 when named chief executive in 2001. He oversaw a period featuring issues such as Shane Warne’s 2003 drugs ban, the decline of the national team from 2007 until the Don Argus-led review of team performance in 2011, the dramatic sacking of the coach Mickey Arthur and replacement by Darren Lehmann in 2013, the death of Phillip Hughes in 2014 and the “Big Three” takeover of the ICC in the same year, and then last’s year’s hot-tempered MoU dispute, a process he was kept out of by Peever before ultimately intervening late in the piece.Yet, at the same time, there were major advancements. The advent of the Big Bash League and day-night Test cricket were significant on-field innovations, women’s cricket grew from amateurism to full professionalism over his time, and the size of the Australian game grew exponentially in financial terms through burgeoning successive television rights deals. This mixture of drama and growth was never better summed up than by the latest broadcast rights deal with Fox Sports and Seven being signed a matter of weeks after the disgrace of Newlands. Sutherland may have hoped to stay on until hosting the World Twenty20 in 2020, but he will now leave around the same time that Smith and Warner return to the playing arena.”My view has always been I’d like to go out on my terms, but at the same time I want to go out in such a way that allows the game to make a smooth transition,” Sutherland said. “I think that having been in the role for 17 years there are things I’ve come to know along the way that it was only appropriate for me to work closely with my successor but at the same time I’ll be keen to get out of their way as quickly as possible as well.”Our business works on a four, five, six year cycle and it just so happens that right now, putting aside the fact I’ve been in the role for 17 years, we’ve adopted a new strategy, we have the collective agreement with our players in place we’ve just done a new media rights deal that puts us in a really strong position about certainty of revenue for this next cycle, as well as the ICC piece, it just feels that with all those things done it’s a really good time for me to step aside but also a really good time for a new chief executive to come in and have a good run at it.”Speaking about Roberts’ recent elevation, Sutherland said it had been a matter of ascribing the former Adidas retail executive a title befitting the role he had increasingly come to play. “From my perspective and internally people would know and understand that over the last 12 months or so at least Kevin’s had a very broad role and has been effectively my deputy and CEO,” he said. “So from that perspective I think it’s really turning what was a convoluted title into a COO and allows that clarity about his role.”Getty Images

Always reluctant to talk about himself, Sutherland parried away a question about personal highlights and lowlights by outlining what he had always thought was the most important element of his role – ensuring as many children played the game as possible, to show them its virtues but also to grow the size of the game.”My underlying belief about the most important thing we do as sports administrators is inspire the next generation to love cricket,” Sutherland said. “Boys and girls, it’s all about that and whilst that doesn’t necessarily get the publicity that it deserves, the facts of the matter are that if kids today are not getting bats and balls in their hands, not seeing and understanding the opportunity that is there from playing cricket, then the game doesn’t have a future. That has been the underlying driver for me in this role, all the way through.”It’s about the kids and about making sure the game has a sustainable future through the next generation. In a specific sense the Big Bash is part and parcel in that, something that’s come into play to bring new people to the game, it’s a great success story for Australian cricket, but it’s one piece of the jigsaw that also includes the opportunity and the access to the game that boys and girls around the country need, and the support that states and territories play in providing that is incredibly important.”The importance of providing access to the game for as many children as possible has been a consistent theme of Sutherland’s years in charge, but his departure has followed the first instance in Australian cricket history of placing a portion of home international cricket behind a television paywall. Just as compromise and contradiction has been required to retain the role for this many years, so too has it applied to the way Sutherland’s time will be remembered.”We’ve had some big things to deal with over the course of the last 12 months,” Sutherland said. “Obviously there’s Cape Town but there’s also some key planks now in place that allow me to step aside and for a new chief executive to come in and have a really strong platform.”

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