Gloucestershire CEO Will Brown to step down

Brown, who succeeded Tom Richardson in the role in 2013, has been at the helm through a successful but also challenging time for the county

Will Brown is to step down as Gloucestershire's chief executive later this summer.

Brown, who succeeded Tom Richardson in the role in 2013, has been at the helm through a successful but also challenging time for the county.

He has seen Gloucestershire win the Royal London Cup and achieve promotion to Division One under his watch, while also hosting regular men's and women's international cricket at Bristol, which has undergone continued redevelopment during his tenure, including the construction of floodlights at the venue almost a decade ago.

Since the pandemic, though, the club has faced significant challenges, recording consecutive, significant losses for 2022 and 2023, with last year's deficit totalling £1.2million. That period of time also coincided with a difficult spell on the field, with Gloucestershire only last week ending a winless run in the County Championship that lasted 18 months.

"I have absolutely loved my time at Gloucestershire Cricket and it has been one of the greatest honours of my life to serve the club I have supported my whole life," said Brown. "The decision to leave is not one I have taken lightly and it has taken me months of agonising to reach this point.

"This decision is one I made much earlier in the year and is a personal one based on what I believe the club needs and my own future, especially in light of my bike accident of last year. I leave in the knowledge that we have a fantastic group of players, coaches, staff and volunteers who are completely dedicated to the club and its future."

^{Gloucestershire won their first County Championship match since September 2022 earlier this season (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)}

At the club's recent AGM, former chair David Jones left his position, and more recently Arron Banks, who co-founded the Leave.EU campaign, wrote an open letter to members outlining his interest in overhauling the club. The Cricketer understands that those declarations are highly unlikely to go any further than that.

Much of Brown's work has come in the social impact space, with Gloucestershire vocal on their sustainability plans and visible in their community work.

"In the last few months we have re-structured our coaching and finance departments, acquired financial support for the future of the club, secured men's and women's international cricket all the way through to 2031 and are making progress in our exploration of a move from the Nevil Road site," he added.

"Over the next few months up until my departure we will also secure additional investment into women and girls' cricket locally, confirm our new County Partnership Agreement (CPA) with the ECB, bid for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2026 and work with the ECB on the future of the Hundred and Gloucestershire's role within in it.

"Whilst there is always more to do this feels like a good time to move on to my next adventure in the knowledge that the club's future is secure and exciting."

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