The appointment of Earl Eddings as Cricket Australia's new chairman is expected to be rubber stamped soon but the ongoing search for two new directors is encountering more obstinance.
Eddings was installed as deputy chairman at the annual general meeting (AGM) then promoted to interim chair following David Peever's resignation.
Eddings, managing director of risk-management company Riskcom and a former first-grade player and president of club North Melbourne, has always loomed as the favourite to succeed Peever.
Snubbing the Victorian could lead to further disharmony at a time when the governing body requires inspired leadership. It's also understood that few directors outside Eddings have flagged an interest in the all-consuming post.
The board had a marathon meeting on Monday and talks have since been ongoing.
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Once a new chair is confirmed, attention will shift to replacing Peever and long-serving director Mark Taylor on the board.
That responsibility falls to a selections committee, which features two yet-to-be-named CA directors plus South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) president Andrew Sinclair and Cricket Victoria chairman Paul Barker.
The states are being consulted. CA is keen to avoid a repeat of the mess that was Peever's reappointment and resignation.
Taylor's exit leaves Michael Kasprowicz as the only former first-class or international player on CA's board, something that will soon be rectified.
Taylor nominated Simon Katich, Alex Blackwell and Belinda Clark as suitable directors earlier this week.
Blackwell, Australia's most capped female player, joined Cricket NSW's board this year after retiring from international cricket.
"If she is nominated and her name is put forward I see no reason why she wouldn't do a good job," current Australia vice-captain Rachael Haynes told AAP.
"She has been a really good leader within Australian cricket. She obviously had an enormous amount of success with NSW.
"She has some really good relationships with players who are currently playing and have played in the past. She's pretty intelligent too and is really forward thinking."
Katich has already made it clear he is not interested while Clark is now performing Pat Howard's job on an interim basis.
Former captains Steve Waugh, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting have also been floated as ideal candidates.
Gilchrist and Ponting both have commentary commitments, a conflict of interest that Taylor admitted became harder and harder to juggle in his 13-year stint as a CA director and Channel Nine pundit.
Once Taylor and Peever's replacements are appointed, the board will be in a better place to sink its teeth into The Ethics Centre's 42 recommendations and a submission from the players' union regarding Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft's bans.
It's believed the recent upheaval hasn't affected CA's stance on the suspensions.
