Cricket Australia will be on the hunt for a new selector following David Boon’s decision to become an ICC match referee. The former Test batsman, who has served on the national selection panel since 2000, will leave the panel in July, will also step down as Cricket Tasmania’s operations manager.
Boon, 50, said he felt it was time to move on to bigger things.
“The time came where there was an opportunity to be involved in world cricket, at a higher level,” he said.
The usually reserved Boon gave little away about selections he was proud of – and not so proud of – during his 11-year stint, but said he felt he had given the job his all.
“It’s been fantastic to represent Tasmania on that National Selection Panel, to work with the Australian team through some great periods of strength, 17 or 18 years of dominance of world cricket, to some tough times when players move on and finish,” he said.
“I’m finishing that role and my role with Cricket Tasmania with full confidence that I’ve given it the best that I could, and that my integrity has been in tact.”
Boon will serve as an understudy to Sri Lankan Ranjan Madugalle for two Tests in England in July, before stepping up as a fully fledged match referee when Zimbabwe host Pakistan in September.
A spokesman for Cricket Australia said the process for selecting Boon’s replacement was yet to begin.
Boon said match referees had a part to play in preventing match-fixing and corruption, as well as maintaining the spirit of cricket.
“I think to state the obvious … there are certain people within cricket for a lot of years that have not operated correctly, so to be vigilant and aware of those sort of people,” he said.
“It’s not great for the game, in fact it’s terrible for the game, and I see the match referee as having a role in being quite vigilant in the way the game is played, and the way it’s conducted and the way the players represent themselves.”
Boon replaces Alan Hurst as Australia’s representative on the ICC’s seven-member panel of match referees.
Hurst, who played 12 Tests and eight one-day internationals for Australia, will retire after serving on the panel since 2004.
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