AUSTRALIA has the chance to be cavalier but is likely to plump for a steady as he – or she – goes replacement for departing chief executive James Sutherland.

West Australian cricket chief executive Christina Matthews, Sutherland’s deputy Kevin Roberts and former NSW cricket chairman John Warn have emerged as the frontrunners to replace Sutherland when his 17-year reign as Cricket Australia chief executive ends within the next year.

Roberts, the former batsman who played 23 first class games for NSW in the mid-1990s, would be the favourite given he was recently made CA’s No. 2 man, a new position created specifically for him.

Roberts was head negotiator for CA in the recent pay war with the players but was sidelined after a stony standoff threatened to bring Australian cricket to a costly standstill.

Only when Sutherland joined negotiations late in the piece was the deadlock broken and the deal clinched.

Roberts, however, appears to have lost no standing at CA and his recent promotion makes him the man to beat as the new boss.

Administrators from rival codes such as David Gallop (soccer) and Todd Greenberg (rugby league) have also been mentioned but Australia is likely to appoint from within.

Matthews, a former Australian wicketkeeper, has negotiated a path through the minefield of West Australian cricket to turn its fortunes around and steer a steady course for the future at a new 60,000-seat stadium.

She also had a strong working relationship with current Australian coach Justin Langer who, when confronted by a log jam of meetings in his first day in the job recently, playfully texted Matthews asking whether he could have his old job as West Australian coach back.

Warn, the Westfield general manager who this week resigned from his post with NSW Cricket, also played a significant behind-the-scenes role in helping to kickstart stalled negotiations in the pay war.

The new boss will enter the role a bit like Prime Minister Ben Chifley, who led the country just after World War II, with the smoke clearing after a period of major upheaval.

Morally, Australian cricket was levelled to ground zero after the ball tampering affair but the big plus for the new chief executive is that they don’t have to get their hands dirty by taking any responsibility for that scandal.

They can also move ahead without having to dive into another pay war.

While challenges such as India’s refusal to play day-night Tests and non-stop programming problems lie ahead, these are small biscuits compared to recent dramas.

With the pay dispute over and a period of less hostility looming, this could be have been seen as a time for a bold appointment, such as Sutherland himself was when he took the job in 2001 at a time when he was younger than the Australian captain Steve Waugh.

Today’s scenario is similar to when Sutherland’s predecessor Malcolm Speed had fought a fierce battle with the players over pay rights, and his departure allowed Sutherland the chance to start his job without battle scars even though he was already in the Cricket Australia system.