South African Steve Elworthy will head up the organisation of the 2019 Cricket World Cup being hosted in England and Wales after the former international cricketer was appointed managing director yesterday.
The 51-year-old — who made 39 appearances for The Proteas in one day internationals and played in four Tests after being capped at the ripe old age of 32 — has accrued vast experience in the organisation of major tournaments.
He was tournament director of the 2007 and 2009 World Twenty20 competitions and the 2013 Champions Trophy held in England and Wales — a competition he is also in charge of organising for the same hosts for next year. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive officer Tom Harrison said Elworthy was the perfect man for the job based on his previous handling of tournaments. “He has an outstanding track record of delivering fan-friendly tournaments which have been widely admired not just in cricket, but across the wider sports industry,” said Harrison.
“Our congratulations to Steve on his appointment and we will be offering him and his team all the support they need to deliver successful tournaments in both 2017 and 2019.” Elworthy, who played county cricket in an unhappy spell for Lancashire in 1996 and was dropped on the morning of their appearance in a one day final, said he was looking forward to the biggest challenge of his career which sees it set to get underway in May 2019. “Since I retired from professional cricket in 2003, I have been given some fantastic opportunities in cricket administration and managing the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is the biggest and the best yet,” said Elworthy.

Aussie Test stars get domestic pink ball help
Australia’s cricket stars will have the chance to play two domestic games with a pink ball to prepare for day-night Tests this summer against South Africa and Pakistan.
Cricket Australia yesterday released its domestic fixture list, with the Sheffield Shield structured to help players get ready for using a ball many have complained is hard to see under lights.
The first round of the tournament on October 25 will feature day/night games in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne, while the fifth round from December 5 will see the same format in Perth, Adelaide and Hobart.
Day-night Tests using a pink ball are a central part of Australia’s home international schedule for 2016-17.
The third and final Test against South Africa will be played under lights at Adelaide in November while the first of three Tests against Pakistan will get the same treatment in Brisbane in December.
“The way the schedule has been structured reinforces the significant role our domestic competitions play in helping players prepare for cricket at the international level,” said CA team performance chief Pat Howard. Australian administrators regard the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand in Adelaide last season as an outstanding success, attracting 123,000 spectators and an average television audience of two million. But players from both sides complained about the pink ball’s movement and durability, as well as the difficulty batsmen faced seeing it under lights.