Australia’s Geoff Allardice has been appointed as permanent CEO of the International Cricket Council after serving the role on an interim basis for more than eight months, the game’s governing body said on Sunday.

Allardice thus replaced Manu Sawhney, who had resigned from his position in July.

“It’s a great privilege to be appointed as the CEO of the ICC and I would like to thank Greg and the ICC Board for the opportunity to lead the sport as we enter an exciting new phase of growth,” Allardice said in a release issued by the governing body.

“My continued focus will be on doing the right thing for our sport and working closely with members to deliver long-term success and sustainability.

“I would also like to thank the ICC staff for their commitment and support over the last eight months.”

Allardice, a former Australian first-class cricketer and administrator, was the ICC general manager, cricket, for eight years. He had previously held a similar role at Cricket Australia.

“I am delighted that Geoff has agreed to take the role of ICC CEO on a permanent basis,” Greg Barclay, ICC Chair said. “He has shown tremendous leadership during an extremely challenging period culminating in the successful delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.”