Having taken cricket in Israel to new heights, it was perhaps fitting that Stanley Perlman decided to retire as chairman while he was climbing Kilimanjaro.

Perlman this week said the time was right to hand over, while he focuses on new business projects.

He has led the Israel Cricket Association for almost 20 years and played for 37 years, during which time the organisation has set up projects that have won world acclaim through the International Cricket Council prize system, something Perlman says he is "incredibly proud of".

"I’ve had a great adventure," said Perlman, who described being elected on to the ICC Cricket Committee and Executive board for several years as the "highlight".

He said: "After many years of building Israeli cricket up, now the time is right for someone else to take over the reins. Both our junior and senior national teams have made giant strides, while the ICC awards were the icing on the cake."

Under Perlman, the ICA has won the Spirit of Cricket Award on three occasions. The first came in 2001 for the Hitting Poverty 4 6 project. This was followed by the Hurah Children with Bedouins initiative in 2009. Two years later, the organisation were European regional winners of the Pepsi ICC Development Programme Awards.

Perlman will now become President of the ICA, with Jonathan Oscar appointed the new chairman, while Steve Leigh has been elected vice-chairman.

"It was a very orderly handover planned well ahead of time," said Perlman. "I will still be around to offer advice and help source funds to improve our grounds, but I will no longer be involved in the day-to-day running."