Dodemaide takes seat on Australia's selection panel

Former Test and one-day allrounder Tony Dodemaide has been confirmed as Australia's newest men's selector, filling the seat vacated by Trevor Hohns.

The 58-year-old Melburnian will join Tasmania's George Bailey and current head coach Justin Langer on the National Selection Panel when he takes up the role in mid-November, ahead of the Vodafone Ashes series.

Dodemaide, who is 10 years younger than Hohns, brings to the panel extensive experience as a highly respected and successful administrator following high profile stints in Victoria, Western Australia and London. He is currently general manager of Hockey One, the new elite national competition for Australian hockey.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a contribution not only in the immediate tournaments and series but also to help chart the medium to longer term course of the Australian men's teams," Dodemaide said.

"I can't wait to offer my experience in cricket as a player and in management to assist George (Bailey) and JL (Langer) but also the wider Australian cricket high performance network.

"Throughout my cricket journey I have often been close to high performance and selection, so I feel well suited to and prepared for this role."

Dodemaide joins the panel ahead of a busy period for the Australian team, who are currently in the UAE for the T20 World Cup.

The team will host England for the Ashes from December 8 in Brisbane, and immediately after will play three ODIs and a T20I against New Zealand before the five-match Dettol T20I series against Sri Lanka that finishes on February 20 next year, after which the Test team is scheduled to make their first visit to Pakistan in almost 24 years.

Hohns stepped away from selection duties in July at the expiry of his contract, having served two stints in the high-profile position from 1995-2005 and 2016-2021.

Bailey, 39, chairs the three-person panel and is the only member with extensive experience of playing T20 cricket, having joined the fresh from the end of his playing days in February 2020.

As a player, Dodemaide scored 50 and took 6-58 in his Test debut in the 1987 Boxing Day match at the MCG.

He also collected a five-wicket haul on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at the WACA in January 1988.

He made 10 Test appearances between 1987 and 1992, and also played 24 ODIs for Australia.

In a first-class career that spanned 15 years, he took 309 wickets and scored 3,349 runs in 105 games for Victoria, and spent three seasons playing with Sussex in the UK's County Championship.

After playing, he joined the MCC where he was Head of Cricket at Lord's for five years before in 2004 returning to Australia as the CEO at the WACA for a three-year stint.

Dodemaide then had a successful decade as Cricket Victoria's chief executive officer, before stepping down in April 2018 following the successful completion of the Junction Oval redevelopment.

Ben Oliver, Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager of High Performance and National Teams, welcomed Dodemaide's return to Australian cricket.

"Tony led a field of very strong candidates and we are thrilled to have him join the NSP at an important and exciting period for the Australian men's team," Oliver said in a statement.

"He is an ideal fit for the selector role at this time and brings skills and experience that will complement George and Justin while adding value to the team and high performance area more broadly."

Victoria won the Sheffield Shield five times during his tenure, while the state's women's team were runners-up five times.

He also oversaw the launch of the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades franchises as the KFC BBL launched onto the cricket landscape in 2011-12.

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