CV supports more than a thousand clubs and nearly half a million registered cricketers in Victoria, the state’s men’s and women’s representative teams, and the Victorian Premier Cricket competitions. It also owns and operates the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades Big Bash League (WBBL and BBL) teams.

Welcome to another edition of Fast Five – our series where we ask some of the most influential and exceptional leaders five questions to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of Australia’s most dynamic businesses and organisations.

In this edition we spoke to CV Chief Executive Officer Nick Cummins. An experienced cricket administrator, Mr Cummins has led CV since 2021 and was previously CEO of Cricket Tasmania. He has also held commercial and executive roles at Sydney Thunder, Betfair and Ford.

1. With the summer of cricket upon us, and buoyed by the recent Men’s World Cup win (meaning both men and women are reigning world champions), how is the season gearing up in 2023-24?

We are well and truly into the season by December. We’ve already played women’s internationals, the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), Marsh Cup and Sheffield Shield and summer is just starting! It’s great to be back on the park but cricket is a year-round sport. It’s a huge summer for our BBL sides – Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades – in action together with international cricket at the Boxing Day Test and the number of other business expansion opportunities we’re looking at. Pleasingly, we’re seeing growth in our junior programs and growth in the number of women and girls playing cricket and hopefully lots of fans along to watch matches across the summer.

2. As the governing body for cricket in Victoria, how big is the sport – and the industry – in the state?

Cricket is a significant player in this state as a truly global sport. We had over 210,000 Victorians play cricket in the 2021-22 season and the game delivers around $340 million annually to the Victorian economy. Cricket has set the pace in a number of key strategic areas across Australian sport and we’ll continue to do so.

3. Launched in 2022 in partnership with RMIT, what is the Melbourne Cricket Education Academy and what outcomes does it deliver?

We’re really proud of what we’ve been able to build with RMIT in only 12 months. Students study at our headquarters at the CitiPower Centre at Junction Oval in St Kilda and graduate from the program with dual diplomas in Leadership and Business Management. They also have the option to pursue some practical cricket training as part of the program. Our 2023 cohort has just graduated, and we’ve been able to employ three of those students. It’s a great concept and pipeline for emerging talent.

4. As one of the more gender diverse sports in Australia and globally, what pathways exist for females in cricket and what is Cricket Victoria’s Women and Girls Strategy?

We’re very proud of the work Australian cricket has done over more than a decade to bring more women and girls to the game. The Women and Girls Strategy is a six-year piece of work to drive participation within the game – whether that be on-field, coaching or through volunteering, competition management and governance. We’ve also streamlined our cricket pathway to ensure it’s easy for players and families to understood the steps required to move through the levels. Ultimately though, we want to keep women and girls in our sport, leading our sport and leaving a legacy for future generations.

5. What corporate opportunities exist for businesses interested in partnering with the sport?

We’ve got a broad range of opportunities to be involved in cricket. Whether that’s through partnerships with our teams, with our venue or more broadly with the game at grass roots level, there are lots of ways for businesses to achieve their outcomes through Victorian cricket. It’s a passionate and heavily engaged audience. Cricket is Australia’s national sport, and in an increasingly fragmented marketplace, brings people together across the country in a way that few other sports can.