Auckland, Nov 12 (IANS) Kevin Malloy has taken over as chairperson of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) after his predecessor, Diana Puketapu-Lyndon, retired from the board on Thursday, having completed the maximum nine-year term allowed for a director.
Malloy, previously the deputy chair, was chosen by his fellow directors at a board meeting held straight after NZC’s 132nd Annual General Meeting (AGM). “I want to begin by thanking Diana, who has given nine years of service to this Board and led with real courage through one of the most demanding periods in the game’s recent history,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Diana joined the board in 2017. Six years later, she broke new ground, becoming the first woman and the first person of Maori descent to chair NZC. Malloy has been an NZC director since 2019 and brings a mix of sports governance and corporate experience to the job.
He spent 29 years with global media agency Starcom, with postings in London, Hong Kong and New York, where he ran the worldwide Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble accounts before rising to CEO of International Operations.
Malloy will finish his three-year stint as chair of Super Rugby Pacific in December and also serves on the boards of Kiwibank and Tourism New Zealand. “It is an honour to be asked to lead NZC as Chair, and it’s a responsibility I take on with a strong understanding of how much the game means to so many New Zealanders,” he said.
The AGM also brought changes to the rest of the board. On the advice of the Board Appointments Panel, members elected Raewyn Lovett ONZM and Jono Brent as directors, while Anna Campbell and Ali Shanks were returned for fresh three-year terms. Mike Devonshire, who was also due for renewal, was not recommended for reappointment and stepped down after three years.
Lovett has spent more than 20 years in sports governance, having chaired Sport New Zealand, High Performance Sport New Zealand and Netball New Zealand, and co-chaired the International Working Group on Women and Sport.
Brent was a chartered accountant and CANZ member from 2003 to 2023, and has also been a chief executive in the infrastructure sector. He led Canterbury Cricket as chair for three years and, over the past year, has headed the development of the Community Cricket New Zealand strategy.
“My thanks go to Mike Devonshire for his valuable contributions over the past three years, and I want to welcome Raewyn and Jono, who bring outstanding governance, financial, and community cricket experience to the table,” said Malloy.
Looking ahead, Malloy said the board knew the game had to move with the times. “The landscape of cricket is evolving rapidly, both here and around the world, and while that brings challenges, it also brings opportunities.
“It’s an exciting time for NZC. We’re in the middle of a vibrant inbound tour by India with record attendances; our BLACKCAPS and WHITE FERNS have major tours and ICC events on the horizon, and we are also preparing to co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2028.”
He said NZ20, the board’s preferred model for the future of the domestic T20 competition, had generated considerable interest, but the grassroots and high-performance programmes were just as much of a priority.
“NZ20 is an aspirational concept with an incredible potential, which is why the Board chose it as the preferred option for the future of our domestic T20 competition. I know there’s plenty of work going on in that space and we’re hopeful of some positive updates from the NZ20 Establishment Committee in the near future.
“More broadly, the Board understands that cricket has a job to do to grow our game. We know we are competing for attention against a myriad of other sports and entertainment products, so it’s upon us as an organisation to ensure Kiwis continue connecting with and loving cricket,” he added.
Malloy takes over as NZC emerges from a difficult financial year. The audited accounts for the 12 months to July 31, 2026, adopted at the AGM, showed a deficit of NZD 7.3 million, well above the NZD 1.8 million budgeted.
With reserves of NZD 25.2 million, NZC is projecting a surplus of more than NZD 10 million for FY27, largely on the back of India’s men’s all-format tour. Former NZC and ICC chair Greg Barclay CNZM was elected a Life Member at the AGM.
Former players Rachel Pullar and Gary Troup ONZM and international umpires Steve Dunne and Steve Woodward were made Honorary Members. Ex-New Zealand cricketer Mark Greatbatch remains NZC president and is now in the second year of his three-year term.
–IANS
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