After a punishing year for England cricket in which they suffered a 4-0 Ashes thrashing to Australia, lost a test series to the West Indies, sacked head coach Chris Silverwood, assistant Graham Thorpe and MD Ashley Giles, Tom Harrison is now gone.
Tom Harrison will step down as ECB CEO and Clare Connor will take over on an interim basis
Tom Harrison will step down as CEO of the ECB and Clare Connor will take over on an interim basis.
Harrison, who played cricket professionally in Northamptonshire and Derbyshire, became chief executive of the ECB in January 2015, and was previously director of marketing from 2003 to 2006.
Harrison will depart in June, with women’s cricket managing director Connor taking over on an interim basis while a long-term successor is recruited.
The news is the latest example of change at the ECB, which still does not have a permanent president following the resignation of Ian Watmore last October, following a review that saw director of men’s cricket Ashley Giles, the coach at boss Chris Silverwood and Test captain Joe Root. since the turn of the year.
Harrison oversaw the ECB’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, though some of the goodwill he gained from his handling of that turbulent period and his own decision to take a voluntary pay cut dissipated when he accepted a large bonus earlier this year.
He and a group of senior managers shared a fund of around £2.1m based on a long-term incentive scheme, drawing criticism due to 62 redundancies made by the governing body as a result of COVID-19. 19.
Last year also saw a racism scandal in Yorkshire on top of the Ashes defeat, as well as a 1-0 Test series loss to the West Indies in March.
England had lost 10 and won just one of their previous 14 Test matches with Silverwood, failing to break the 300 mark even once during a dismal Ashes campaign.
Brendon McCullum has since been appointed as the new head coach of the England men’s Test team, with the red and white ball head coaching roles being split under new England men’s cricket managing director Rob Key.
Harrison said: “It has been a great honor to be the chief executive of the ECB for the last seven years.
“Cricket is an extraordinary force for good in the world and my aim has been to make the game bigger and ensure that more people and more communities in England and Wales feel they have a place in the sport.
“The long-term health of cricket depends on its ability to grow and remain relevant and more inclusive in an ever-changing world.
“The last two years have been incredibly challenging, but we have come together to get through the pandemic, through cricket’s biggest financial crisis and commit to tackling discrimination and continuing the journey to become the inclusive and welcoming sport that we strive to be.
“I have put everything into this role, but I think now is the right time to bring fresh energy to continue this work.”
James Cole of Sky Sports News…
“Harrison was expected to resign this summer, but not so soon. The feeling was that the board would wait until there was a permanent ECB president in his place.
“But clearly, with the coaching search almost complete, the white ball coach expected to be announced this week, the board felt that now is the right time for Harrison to leave.
“It comes after a turbulent couple of years for the ECB. Harrison led the inaction on the Azeem Rafiq scandal, allowing Yorkshire County Cricket Club to drag on and do nothing.
“Not intervening was a decision widely criticized by the government. He was also criticized for his performance in front of the DCMS Select Committee at the Azeem Rafiq hearing.
“And then he was criticized again for accepting his share of a £2.1m bonus despite 62 jobs at the ECB being cut due to the pandemic.
“A very, very difficult couple of years for Harrison and the ECB. Now he has decided to retire.
“The ECB’s head of women’s cricket, Clare Connor, will take over the organization’s interim role, but that means they are now looking to fill another important, high-profile strategic role.”
