Cricket Victoria chief executive quits

Ken Jacobs will resign as the Cricket Victoria chief executive at the end of the 2006-07 season after 26 years in state leadership roles.

Bill Lawry, the former Test batsman, said Jacobs had done an outstanding job in taking the then Victorian Cricket Association from nine employees in 1980 to 55 today, and increasing the annual turnover of $500,000 to $20million. "Ken guided Victorian cricket into the professional era of the game and oversaw an unprecedented level of growth at the grassroots level," Lawry said. "He leaves the game in a very healthy state."

However, Victoria's lean patch in terms of Pura Cup/Sheffield Shield titles - they have won two in the last 25 years - and the dearth of Victorians currently in the national team has been disappointing. "I suppose there's always the question of is success driven by the number of Victorians playing for Australia or the number of Sheffield Shields or Pura Cups we win and those are reasonable yardsticks," Jacobs said.

"I feel the timing is right to pursue other opportunities, particularly following what promises to be the biggest and most successful season of international cricket seen in Australia. The icing on the cake would obviously be to see the Victorian Bushrangers and Vic Spirit teams successful in their domestic interstate competitions."