Message to HKCA Members from the Chairman

To the Members of the Hong Kong Cricket Association

I would like to bring you up to date with the direction and initiatives that are being taken by the Executive Committee. This letter was planned to be posted later this month but has been advanced in response to the article in the South China Morning Post today (February 10th, 2009).

Some 3 weeks ago a summit meeting was held by representatives from key stake holders in the Association to address ways to move the game forward and also to identify the principal issues that exist at present. The outcomes of this meeting were to be discussed by the Executive Board on February 19th and communicated to members thereafter.

During the summit meeting the goal was to identify issues that are road blocks for the Association and whilst a number were identified some following issues were highlighted:

Now prior to my election to the committee there had been previous meetings to identify such issues and almost the exact same issues were raised 3-5 years ago and also some years before that when a plan was developed to move the game forward.

When reviewing this, the one area that we have not looked to change or improve upon is the administration of the game and how we achieve success in any or all of the objectives above.

Cricket globally is moving very quickly and associations at our level around the world are employing experienced CEOs to take the game and the administration of the game in these countries forward and if we wish to win in the areas above our game in Hong Kong must move to this level of professionalism.

The article in the south China morning post talks about the lack of communication about the recruitment and transition of the Association through the office of a qualified CEO. It should be noted that a review of the minutes of the executive committee meetings on the Association website, back almost a year now would explain the direction the Executive have planned for such a move. I do however take cogniasance that such a form of communication is not sufficiently explicit and we will work in the future to rectify this through direct missives to the Membership such as this one.

The question of finance and our ability to support such a hire is one that you the members have every right to raise and one that I wish to answer for you.

Yes, there is a cost involved and we will be using some funds that have been raised through the success of the Sixes prior to 2008. It would be irresponsible of the committee to invest for a period that would put the total finances of the association in jeopardy and I guarantee you this will not be the case.

The role of the CEO will include the financial responsibility of managing all the costs with the Association and also generating revenue streams to take the game forward. Should the selected professional be unable to meet the targets set by the Executive over an agreed time period we will make the necessary changes to ensure that a fiscally capable person is put in place to help us drive the Association to address the issues that confront us.

I will be communicating in the next 30 days a paper on our plans and objectives which will give you a broader view on other aspects mentioned however I thought it necessary to advise you of where we currently are in regards to the CEO position.

Darren Tucker
HKCA Chairman