FILE – England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison at Gaddafi Stadium during a tour of the PCB’s head office on November 9, 2021 in Lahore, Pakistan. A turbulent period for English cricket has seen another high-profile departure between his leadership with the chief. Executive Tom Harrison announced that he is stepping down. The men’s Test captain, head coach, director of cricket and now the CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board have stepped down from their roles at the end of the year. ( Associated Press photo/KM Choudhary)
FILE – England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison at Gaddafi Stadium during a tour of the PCB’s head office on November 9, 2021 in Lahore, Pakistan. A turbulent period for English cricket has seen another high-profile departure between his leadership with the chief. Executive Tom Harrison announced that he is stepping down. The men’s Test captain, head coach, director of cricket and now the CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board have stepped down from their roles at the end of the year. ( Associated Press photo/KM Choudhary)
LONDON ( Associated Press) – A turbulent period for English cricket saw another high-profile departure among his leadership on Tuesday when chief executive Tom Harrison announced he would step down.
Since the start of the year, the men’s Test captain, head coach, director of cricket and now CEO have stepped down from their roles as the England and Wales Cricket Board begins a so-called “red-ball reset” amid the crisis. test team.
Harrison has faced some blame for this for preferring shorter formats of the game in search of more revenue streams during his more than seven years as chief executive. This included being a key driver behind the introduction of the Hundred, a new competition designed to broaden the game’s audience and placed at the center of the British summer – perhaps to the detriment of Test cricket.
Harrison, who joined the ECB from sports marketing giant IMG in January 2015, had to navigate English cricket through a pandemic that created unprecedented financial challenges and then a racism scandal due to complaints from former player Azeem Rafiq.
The ECB said in a statement announcing Harrison’s departure next month that a “significant part” of the role for his replacement would be to make cricket “a welcoming and diverse sport, with an agreed-upon action plan for an exit in November 2021″. is involved through the continued implementation of discrimination within the sport.”
Claire Connor, who is currently the managing director of women’s cricket in England, will replace Harrison on an interim basis.
The ECB said its annual revenue nearly tripled during Harrison’s tenure.
“The past two years have been incredibly challenging,” Harrison said, “but we have pulled together to overcome the pandemic, address cricket’s biggest financial crisis, and tackle discrimination and develop an inclusive, welcoming Committed to continuing the journey towards becoming the sport.
“I have put my everything into this role, but I believe this is the right time to bring in new energy to continue this work.”
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