In this week's BPL Twenty20 questionnaire, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland talks about being beguiled by Viv Richards, where he ranks Shane Warne among our sporting greats - and what keeps him awake at night.

James Sutherland was appointed chief executive of Cricket Australia in 2001. An accountant by trade, he first moved into sports administration as finance manager at Carlton Football Club. But cricket was always his sport - having been a talented fast-medium bowler for Victoria in both the Sheffield Shield and one-day competitions - and he joined CA as general manager in 1998. Quietly spoken, but also quietly assertive, Sutherland has been a strong and steady hand on the tiller of Australian cricket at a time of immense change - India's rise to superpower status, Test cricket's struggle for relevance, the surging popularity of Twenty20 and the growing issue of player misbehaviour.

Viv Richards was the hero of my youth. As a batsman, he was everything I wasn't: confident, aggressive, fearless and had a hook shot.

02What was your greatest act of courage?

The decision in 1992 to move out of the Chartered Accounting profession into the then embryonic field of sports administration.

03What is the most memorable sporting event you have witnessed?

As a child, the Centenary Test at the MCG in 1977. Since then, the Sydney Olympics on the night of Cathy Freeman's gold medal - so much anticipation and, less than a minute later, so many emotions.

04Which sporting event in history would you most like to have attended?

Any of the six Geelong premierships that came before I was born.

05What keeps you awake at night?

Australian teams on tour on the other side of the world.

06What is your greatest extravagance?

Time ..... for golf.

07Which talent would you most like to have?

I have zero musical talent. It would be nice to be able to sing and/or play the piano.

08What bores you?

Waiting in queues at airports.

09On which occasions do you lie?

Only after fishing.

10What trait do you most deplore in others?

Self promotion.

Anyone who's humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

12Who doesn't - and why?

Anyone who's not as above.

I'm sorry I'm late.

Richard Watson's 'Future Files: A history of the next 50 years.'

Michael Lewis' 'Moneyball'.

William the Conqueror, who had a really big win against England.

17What is the greatest sports venue in the world?

The MCG.

18Which living person/people do you most admire?

Nelson Mandela.

19Who is Australia's greatest sportsman/woman?

Don Bradman is the greatest but Shane Warne is the best in my lifetime.

20What sport don't you ‘get'?

Synchronised swimming.