Surrey chief Steve Elworthy calls for ECB and counties to work together

The club's new CEO, who worked for the ECB for many years, believes an antagonist relationship with the governing body will benefit no one

Steve Elworthy has called for the ECB and the 18 first-class counties to work together in order to move the game forward.

Surrey’s new CEO, who replaced Richard Gould in January, worked at Lord’s for 14 years in various positions, including helping to keep matches afloat in a Covid-19 world.

Tensions are running high across English cricket at present, with the national side’s red-ball reset and the ECB’s upcoming high performance review, which threatens a restructuring of the English season from 2023, sparking discussions about changes to domestic competitions and the culling of counties.

However, Elworthy believes neither side will benefit from being antagonistic.

"I have thought about this a lot,” he told the Evening Standard. "My overarching comment is that I don’t see how an antagonistic relationship with the governing body is going to benefit us in any way.

"I understand both sides of the coin. I have been at the ECB for 14 years, front and centre in some of those conversations. I get the tensions. But as a game, to move forward, the counties, the ECB, everyone has to work together."