Geoff Allardice has resigned as ICC CEO after four years, citing a desire to “pursue new challenges”.
Allardice was appointed CEO in November 2021, after taking over on an interim basis eight months earlier when his predecessor, Manu Sawhney, was suspended. He joined the ICC in 2012 as general manager of cricket, following a prior role with Cricket Australia.
Geoff Allardice has resigned as chief executive of the ICC after four years in the role, citing a desire to “pursue new challenges”.
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 28, 2025
He was appointed as CEO in November 2021, having previously served as the acting CEO for eight months pic.twitter.com/ZyiHm1GlLV
Like his predecessor Dave Richardson, Allardice had a lower profile as CEO than predecessors like Haroon Lorgat or Malcolm Speed, although he was a key administrator at the ICC. Specifically, during his tenure as general manager of cricket, he can claim some significant accomplishments, including overcoming the BCCI’s initial concerns with DRS and ensuring its implementation as standard across the international game; standardizing and implementing processes around illegal actions; and overseeing the creation of the World Test Championship and the (now-defunct) ODI Super League as a means of bringing context to bilateral cricket. In an era when domestic, cash-rich T20 leagues proliferated, the latter was a significant contribution.
When he took over as CEO in an interim capacity, it was assumed he did so reluctantly. And when he took on the role permanently, it came at a tough time for the game, which was still dealing with the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. But one of his main accomplishments as CEO was getting cricket into the Olympics, which might have long-term implications for the game’s growth.
Overseeing the first ICC international event in the United States, the T20I World Cup last year, should have been a similarly watershed moment in the game’s development, but the tournament’s operations have since been audited, and board members have expressed dissatisfaction with how it was conducted.
The ICC stated in a statement that its board will “initiate the next steps to identify” Allardice’s replacement, although it did not specify whether Allardice was leaving immediately or staying until the end of the Champions Trophy in February-March.
Allardice is the latest in a string of senior ICC executives to leave, following the departures of Alex Marshall (the anti-corruption chief), Chris Tetley (head of events), and Claire Furlong (general manager marketing and communication) in recent months.
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