Photo Credit: Cricket NSW
Cricket stalwarts Julie Hayes and John Warn were confirmed as Cricket NSW Life Members at the association’s Annual General Meeting on Monday night.
Alongside Hayes and Warn being bestowed with Life Membership at the meeting that was held online due to the Government restrictions currently in place, senior executive Courtenay Smith was nominated and elected as a new member of the CNSW Board of Directors.
Smith is currently the Chief Financial Officer at Mirvac. She is a chartered accountant who has 24 years’ experience as a finance professional with management skills across the areas of leadership, strategy, governance, risk management, finance, operations and transformation.
Possessing a passion for cricket, a game she played for NSW at representative level in underage teams (U18-U21), Smith is also a Director of the Board of the Starlight Children’s Foundation and her expertise is a wonderful coup for CNSW.
Hayes, a NSW Breakers and Australian representative, and Warn, a former Chairman of the Cricket NSW Board, were honoured as the 132nd and 133rd Life Members of Cricket NSW.
Hayes was an exceptional player renowned for her ability as a right-handed bat and right-arm medium pace bowler.
She was the first to play 100 Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) matches for NSW, finishing with a then record 112 and completed her WNCL career with the NSW record for most wickets (112 at 27.05) and remains second on that list, behind only CNSW Hall of Fame member Lisa Sthalekar.
Hayes played in six test matches for Australia between 2001 and 2005-06, taking 10 wickets at 25.70 with a best of 3-9. She also scored 118 runs at 14.75 with a highest score of 57.
In 59 One Day Internationals (2000-01 to 2006-07) she took 65 wickets at 24.23, with an economy rate of 2.98 and a best of 4-31. She complimented her feats with the ball with 241 runs at 14.17 with a top score of 44.
Throughout her career (1995-96 to 2006-07), and including overseas tours to England and New Zealand, Julie played in 181 List A matches. She took 203 wickets at 23.74 with five four-wicket performances, including a best of 6-18. She scored 889 runs at 12.01 with a highest of 58 not out.
Warn played at the Manly Warringah District Cricket Club in a career spanning 14 years but it is in his contribution to the sport as an administrator that he excelled.
A delegate to the Sydney Cricket Association (SCA) from 2011-2018, and a member of the Cricket NSW Board of Directors from 2011-2018, Warn served as Chairman of the Cricket NSW Board from 2013-2018.
When Warn was elected Chairman of the CNSW Board in February 2013, he was only 40 years-of-age – the youngest person to hold this position in the organisation’s 158-year history.
As Chairman, Warn oversaw a significant period of change, success and reform at Cricket NSW. This included strong financial performance, taking elite content to regional NSW, overseeing significant growth in grassroots funding for facilities, winning every available senior domestic title, the professionalisation of women’s cricket, and the rebuild of Sydney Thunder.
In 2006 he was awarded Life Membership of the Manly club, where he continues to serve on the committee today, while in 2014 Warn was recognised across the state for his contribution to Cricket when he was awarded Volunteer Director of the Year at the Sport NSW Awards.
Cricket NSW Chairman John Knox paid tribute to both Hayes and Warn.
“Julie and John have both been enormous contributors to cricket in New South Wales and Life Membership is a wonderful way of recognising their passion and commitment to inspiring people to play and love cricket,” Knox said.
Photo Credit: LinkedIn profile photo of John Knox
“Julie’s on-field success is well documented and should be celebrated, while John was a terrific chairman of Cricket NSW and a big reason for the success and strength of cricket in NSW now is due to the leadership he showed as chairman for over five years.
“We congratulate them and more importantly thank them.”
Alongside Hayes and Warn being bestowed with Life Membership at the meeting that was held online due to the Government restrictions currently in place, Courtenay Smith was nominated and elected as a new member of the CNSW Board of Directors.
Nominated Board members Richard Timbs and Ed Cowan were returned unopposed, while John Knox and David Gallop were re-appointed.
