Former first-class cricketer Jeff Freeman was appointed chairman of Northern Districts at their annual general meeting at the weekend.

Freeman played five matches for the association between 1972 and 1975. He succeeds long-serving chairman Mike Sandlant who stood down, but who retains his position on the board of ND. As well as being a former player, Freeman is a Level III coach and has been on the board for the last eight years.

He is a primary school principal in Hamilton.

Ian Steele stood down for re-election to the board following an overseas positing in the dairy industry.

Steele's position has been taken by Northland Cricket's executive officer Bruce Scott.

At a district associations forum held before the annual meeting it was agreed that a working party be set up to look at the boundaries of associations within the ND region. The last time an assessment of the associations was done was in 1977.

The working party will be in place by August 8 with an obligation to produce its findings by May 30. The party are expected to visit the associations and work with the figures from the recent census and population demographics to reach their findings.

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