Cricket Australia proudly congratulates Charlie Burke, who will make his Big Bash League (BBL) Match Refereeing debut in Sunday’s season opener between the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Sixers at Optus Stadium.
Burke’s background includes cricketing experience that spans playing, coaching, and administration. He began his career as a player with the Claremont-Nedlands Cricket Club in the Western Australia Premier Cricket competition and later spent time with the Prahran Cricket Club in the Victorian Premier Cricket competition. Burke’s stint in Melbourne coincided with his professional career at the ICC East Asia Pacific division, before moving into a role as Coach & Talent Manager at Queensland Cricket.
In 2010, Burke was appointed coach of the Hong Kong National Men’s and Women’s teams, where he guided the Under-19 squads to semi-finals and finals of the Asian Cricket Council tournaments. His time in Hong Kong also marked his first appointment as a Match Referee in 2016 during the Hong Kong T20 Blitz, where he officiated the Final.
Beyond cricket, Burke has contributed to football, serving as Talent Manager with the Peel Thunder Football Club in the WAFL and more recently as Manager of Male Football at the South Fremantle Football Club.
During the 2024–25 season, Burke was appointed to the Cricket Australia National Match Referee Panel and quickly began officiating in domestic competitions. Last season, he made his Match Referee debuts in the WBBL, T20 Spring Challenge, WNCL, and Toyota Second XI competitions, and only last week he was appointed to the WBBL Knockout Final between the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars at the WACA Ground.
Burke became just the 17th Australian – and only the second from Western Australia – to be appointed Match Referee to a men’s BBL match.