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

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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."

Comments

Posted by Chris Coke on 20/04/2022 at 17:54

Steve Elsworthy is mainly interested in ECB making as much money as possible in The Hundred. Unlike Richard Gould who had interpersonal skills and showed a genuine interest in listening to Surrey members' concerns etc the meeting I attended at The Oval recently and the pre-season lunch Steve Elsworthy just liked the sound of his own voice and mentioned The Hundred !

Posted by roger newman on 20/04/2022 at 16:47

Very interested to read that there ids currently a high performance review of elite cricket being carried out by Andrew Strauss Sorry but the ECB needs an independent root and branch review from top to bottom It is an organisation that is just not fir for purpose Sorry Andrew but your review will not change anything - For example they have just appointed an MD of mens,s cricket at a time when they have no Chairman, an ineffective Board, a CEO who will be leaving shortly, no coach , and no captain. Anybody who has run a successful business will tell you that this is a sign of a company that is about to go bust !!! It gives me no pleasure to say this but we need to look at the whole picture if we are able to move forward with any confidence in the future of the game.Any review should be carried out by independent observers

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