Tom Harrison's ECB reign nearing an end as chief exec could stand down before AGM

GEORGE DOBELL: With the process of appointing a new chair about to start in earnest – the ECB hope Ian Watmore's successor is in place by the end of May, the probable date of the AGM - there is a realisation that time is up for Harrison

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Tom Harrison could well be in the last few weeks of his tenure as chief executive of the ECB.

Harrison, who started his current role in January 2015, has been clinging onto power in ever more desperate fashion in recent months. With the game beset by an inclusivity crisis, thrashed on the pitch in its barometer series and facing a second governance review of his tenure, Harrison has been fighting an increasingly hopeless battle on numerous fronts.

At the same time, the first-class counties are perplexed how little they have seen of the extra money that has supposedly come into the game, while the ECB's reserves have all but disappeared. And there is a growing acceptance that the chaotic domestic calendar and relentless international schedules are self-defeating.

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Tom Harrison is entering his final chapter as ECB chief executive

There remains disquiet that Harrison is due to receive a large bonus at an organisation that is so obviously failing in numerous ways and which carried out large scale redundancies only months ago. 

Harrison has clung on in recent months to provide the organisation with a semblance of leadership since Ian Watmore, the previous chair, resigned in October. But with the process of appointing that new chair about to start in earnest – the ECB hope they are in place by the end of May, the probable date of the AGM - there is a realisation that time is up for Harrison. So weak is his current position that it is possible he could step down before the AGM.

While it is understood that various potential applicants for the chair role have been contacted with a view to encouraging them to apply, adverts for the position will appear shortly.

Richard Thompson, the Surrey chair, would be a popular choice among the first-class counties but is thought unlikely to apply, with Mark McCafferty and Fanos Hira, the current chairs of Warwickshire and Worcestershire respectively, also options from among current figures working within the game. 

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Richard Thompson, the Surrey chairman, could come in as the new ECB chair

Baroness Amos and Ron Kalifa, among those on the current board, would also be strong candidates if they applied. Kalifa, however, is currently chair of the nominations committee who will select a candidate to recommend to the board, so is effectively excluded from applying. Barry O’Brien, the interim chair, has indicated he will not apply. 

In terms of Harrison's successor, the likes of Johnny Grave, currently CEO at Cricket West Indies, and Wasim Khan, who recently stepped down from the same role in Pakistan, would be strong contenders as would Guy Lavender, currently with the MCC, and Daniel Gidney, who is with Lancashire.

Neil Snowball and David Mahoney, both of whom already work with the ECB, would be strong internal candidates.

Comments

Posted by Jim Cumbes on 14/02/2022 at 17:33

I don't really know Tom Harrison at all, but having been a Chief Executive of Lancashire for 14 years I know some of the difficulties that are experienced in the job. For a start, the Chairman is really your guiding light in this position. Tom has been without one for months, and I'm not sure the last Chairman who didn't last for12 months, could have been much of one anyway. Cricket has gone through difficulties this last two years that it has never experienced before, and I think we have actually come through it quite well. I was sceptical about the Hundred, but kept an open mind about it. In the end I actually quite enjoyed it and think it should be given a fair chance of succeeding. Let us not forget that County cricket has not paid for itself for many years and quite frankly many wouldn't survive if wasn't for the ECB.

Posted by Dave vine on 13/02/2022 at 16:16

Harrison has run his race and should be stood down. We have enough weak leaders in positions of influence in this country time for cricket to delete theirs

Posted by Marc Evans on 13/02/2022 at 16:15

He should be embarrassed about the way he's left the 1st class game, not continuing in the same direction. He's a political animal and marketing man with absolutely no understanding of what the existing fans want, hence his desire to create a new amateur audience who are into cheap thrills and white noise. Even that hasn't worked, with the Hundred masquerading as a success but not standing up to much scrutiny when you examine the facts and figures. Let's get a new order who have insider knowledge to sort out the mess and reestablish a decent balance of the formats.

Posted by Toby Miller on 13/02/2022 at 13:36

Hooray--should this come to pass. Can we please drop the Hundred, reallocate money to 20/20, equally between women and men, and hope for new appointees able to write and speak clear, crisp prose, rather than the idiot world of 'bowling group' (it's called 'an attack') or 'batting group' (it's called 'batting order' or 'lineup') or the madness of turning verbs into nouns ('spend' as a noun when 'expenditure' is available)

Posted by Alan Wilkins on 13/02/2022 at 09:21

The writer of this article would appear to have a personal vendetta against Tom Harrison. I suspect there may be some historical personal grievances involved.

Posted by Sohaib Alvi on 12/02/2022 at 05:02

Wasim Khan is no doubt a good, well intentioned man and manager. He may actually do well in the current atmosphere in English cricket. Sadly he struggled as CEO PCB. I wrote this piece on Wasim Khan’s experience as CEO PCB on his departure. https://www.bolnews.com/sports/2022/01/pakistan-cricket-back-to-the-future/

Posted by Roger on 12/02/2022 at 00:35

Thanks George - great article but I will believe in when I see it . How does the Performance Director Mo Bobat retain his position - amazing !!!!

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