Katich wins Kerry Packer Award

Simon Katich has been awarded the Kerry Packer award for outstanding service to the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA).

Katich accepted the award during the ACA Delegates Conference on Thursday, in front of current player representatives. The award acknowledges a person who has gone above and beyond in service of the players, which Katich achieved through six years on the ACA Executive.

ACA Chief Executive Alistair Nicholson praised Katich for his long-standing association with the player's body.

"It is important in the ACA that we have people that are willing to stand up and represent the playing group, and sometimes that can be challenging," Nicholson said.

"When these challenging decisions get made, it's important for the playing group to know who those people are.

Katich was pleased that he was given the opportunity to influence decisions, in an extremely important time in Australian cricket.

"It's a huge honour. I am very proud to be associated with the ACA, it means a lot to me given the history of Australian cricket to be a part of it."

"There were a lot of big decisions that needed to be made and that process was always exciting to be a part of."

Former ACA Chief Paul Marsh was adamant that very few people would command as much respect as Simon throughout Australian cricket and commended his involvement in two ACA industrial negotiations.

"He was an important contributor in those negotiations and was a great sounding board for me and the other staff members. "

"Simon was on the Executive when we made the decision to represent the female players; and was an important part of that process."

Reflecting on his career, Katich was pleased that he was able to represent Australia and his teammates for an extended period of time.

"For me it was all about the team winning and I think that helped me personally because I focused on the team winning rather than my own individual performance," Katich said.

"I am really glad I went down that [ACA] path, and gave my time to help out as best I could."

The former Australian batsman remains with the ACA, having recently commenced as Player Relations Manager.

Previous winners of the Kerry Packer award include Tim May, Ian Healy, Greg Mathews, Matthew Hayden and Paul Marsh.

Background

The Kerry Packer award provides honorary life membership and is presented to members and non-members who are deemed to have served the ACA in an outstanding capacity. This award is judged by the ACA Executive and James Packer, and has a rich history of former winners.

Past winners include:

▪ Tim May
▪ Chum Darvall
▪ Ian Healy
▪ Matthew Hayden
▪ Greg Mail
▪ Paul Marsh
▪ Darren Lehmann
▪ Mike Hussey
▪ Greg Matthews