Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley: I'm not very good at enjoying cricket | Cricket Australia

I I'm a little uncomfortable with this because it's not about me, says Nick Hockley. Cricket Australia's outgoing CEO has just five months left in the sport's most demanding role, but he continues to avoid the spotlight. I know I'm nearing the end, but I still have a lot to do.

The Birmingham-born son of a doctor father and an optometrist mother turned 50 three weeks ago. By the time he leaves CA in March, it will have been almost five years since he was given the somewhat surprising appointment as interim and then permanent CEO. I didn't want to throw a big party, he says about his birthday. Maybe in March, or an end-of-year party.

There will likely be plenty to celebrate after a much-anticipated summer that included a men's series against India and a women's Ashes against England, Australian cricket's traditional foe and its emerging challenger. The absurdity of an Englishman being given responsibility for Australia's favorite pastime at a time of great need is not lost on Hockley and his friends. My friends in England make fun of me all the time, he says.

Yet Hockley's ties to Australia run deep. While studying at Oxford University he lived with three Australians and two of them remain close friends. The other, Ian Tucker, died in 1996 after suffering a brain injury on the rugby field.

Within 12 months of that tragedy, Hockley was working in London with the corporate finance practice at PWC and soon sought a temporary transfer to Sydney. There he met his Australian wife Lauren, and the couple initially settled in Britain while Hockley worked at the 2012 London Olympics.

Part of the deal with Lauren was that we got married in Sydney in 2010 and emigrated after the Olympics, says Hockey. I came out and met a lot of people in sports in Australia [in 2010]', and they said, 'Well, it's quite difficult now, wait until you're on the ground.'

Back in London, he finally got a Skype interview with John Harnden, who now runs Melbourne and the Olympic Parks, and has been a board member of Cricket Australia for much of the Hockley era and was CEO of the then-upcoming 2015 Cricket World Cup for men in 2015. Australia.

It was two o'clock in the morning just before the London Olympics, I just got back from the Olympic Park, and Jemima, my daughter, was six months old, and she was screaming, and I couldn't keep her still, Hockley remembers .

Despite, or perhaps because of, his daughter's contributions, Hockley got the job. He was made responsible for the 2020 Women's T20 World Cup, which saw 86,174 people watch the final, a breakthrough moment for women's sport and a precursor to the Matildas buzz that accompanied the 2023 FIFA World Cup.

He was then placed in the role of CEO just as Covid came to power, replacing Kevin Roberts, who was ousted after just 20 months. Cricket in Australia was still reeling from the 2018 sandpaper controversy, the head office had laid off 40 staff and the pandemic was about to wipe out the peak of the games revenue cycle involving local Test tours of India and England.

Hockley has managed to stabilize the game by signing key broadcast and player pay deals that set Australian cricket up for the next so-called strategic cycle, while largely staying out of the spotlight. It has been the privilege of my life to hold this office and I still have much to do, he says. Getting started with something that so many people care about, I believe that every business, even looking back at my business finances, is all about relationships.

While financial concerns were rarely absent, Hockey's biggest challenges came from elsewhere. He cites Justin Langer's departure as coach when he was not offered a long-term contract and opted to resign immediately and the dismissal of Men's Test captain Tim Paine after explicit messages the wicketkeeper exchanged with an associate of Cricket Tasmania became public.

The coaching transition, and also Tim's situation, has really been the hardest, because I had so much admiration and respect [for them]and they have also just been very difficult situations. With the former we've had to make some tough decisions, but with the latter, where someone you've worked very closely with is going through a tough time, that's been the hardest part.

Paine's 2022 book was critical of Hockley's handling of the saga and the captain's eventual dismissal, and the Tasmanian retired from first-class cricket shortly afterwards. He returned to elite cricket last year and was appointed head coach of the Premiers XI team last week.

Hockley says he'll keep in touch. Behind the scenes we have really done our best to support him, and I couldn't be happier that he is making great strides in terms of coaching, and being in and around the game. He has so much to offer, and I really enjoy his company. I'd like to think that, and hopefully he would say that I really tried to invest in the relationship during a very difficult time.

Hockley plans to stay in Sydney after a break and look for work there. The 2027 men's and 2029 women's Rugby Union World Cups seem a logical choice for the former hooker and England student representative who once played in front of 75,000 spectators at Twickenham. And in the run-up to the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane, his services will undoubtedly be in high demand.

It was therefore a surprise when reports emerged that Cricket Australia's board did not consider him the right candidate as long-term CEO. Hockley disputes this suspicion and refuses to discuss it in detail.

I think it is very important that you leave the place stronger than you found it, but also that the transfer goes very smoothly. The bigger question for me was whether I would do another whole strategic cycle, or whether I would take this incredible experience and move on to other things today, he says.

Apart from grievances from state associations over the direction of cricket and its share of funding, the most direct criticism Hockley has received has been over his public conduct. I think I've learned a huge amount in the role, and there are bits of the role that I love, and there are bits of the role that I find difficult, but I think that's the same for anyone in any discipline , he says.

The Englishman believes the biggest challenge for the game today is to ensure it reflects today's multicultural Australia and supports areas such as women's cricket. What you've seen is incredible growth, and there's real momentum, but we weren't there yet. We have made great progress on wages, but pay is not yet truly equal, he says.

In Hockley's modest office in Jolimont, within sight of the MCG, a pink and purple sequined costume of a cartoon woman shaped like a cricket bat catches your eye. It was worn by the backup dancers who supported Katy Perry during the historic 2020 World Cup final and now stands on the corner.

Hockley sits opposite him and adds one final thought. It feels a bit premature, but I was very lucky, you helped me think a bit, he says. One thing I'm not good at is celebrating our successes, I just want to move on to the next thing. But I'm getting better at celebrating everyone's hard work.

And the other thing is that I'm not very good at enjoying the cricket and the event days because you feel very responsible and you just want to make sure everything is OK. So I'm determined to enjoy this summer.