Andrew Strauss to step down from ECB after counties turn down his suggested reforms

The former England captain Andrew Strauss has been one of the most respectable names in English cricket. Moreover, it is also believed that he has been close to many current players of the national team. Strauss was also the director of England men’s cricket between 2015-2018. Additionally, he remained in the high-profile role in an interim capacity from February to May 2022, as well.

Thereafter, he chaired the High-Performance Cricket Committee and remained attached to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) by being their strategic advisor. Notably, Strauss recommended several reforms for English cricket. These recommendations were made to enable players to play in all kinds of conditions a player can get to experience around the world. In the same vein, restructuring the domestic set-up, which will focus more on playing red-ball cricket. Apart from that one of the key recommendations proposed included the use of Kookaburra balls which seams for a longer duration than the Duke balls which are mainly used in England.

Consequently, two major proposals viz- reduction of County Championship games and dedicated windows for limited-overs cricket in the domestic circuit were turned down by most of the counties. While they requested to postpone the restructuring till 2024, out of 18 counties, 12 voted out against the white-ball cricket proposal. Hence, both the proposed reforms failed to pass in the voting.

 As a result, after giving so much to English cricket in different roles, the ECB on Friday, announced that Strauss will step down from both his roles as part of changes in the boardroom setup of the cricket governing body. Notably, Strauss held the role since September 2020. The 46-year-old will officially step down next month at the Annual General Meeting of the ECB.

With increasing commitments outside of the organisation, sadly I’ve decided it’s time to step away: Strauss

Andrew Strauss reflected on his journey with ECB as an administrator by saying that due to increasing workload and pressure of other roles he has been involved in outside of ECB has forced him to call it a time on his current roles with the cricket board.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time at the ECB and am proud of having contributed to a successful period for our England teams. With increasing commitments outside of the organisation, sadly I’ve decided it’s time to step away from my current role. I wish the new board all the very best as it continues in its mission to grow our game,” Strauss was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

However, the chief executive of the ECB, Richard Thompson, thanked Strauss for his great service to English cricket over the years. Moreover, he was hopeful that the experienced player and administrator will again come back to the ECB in some way to contribute to the growth of the game ahead.

"Andrew has given outstanding service to English cricket over many years in a number of different roles. I've greatly valued the advice and expertise he has provided in my time as chair, and have enjoyed working with him. We are currently implementing the vast majority of recommendations from his impressive High Performance Review, which I believe will help our England men's teams to sustain their success. I have no doubt he has much more to contribute to the game and hope he will return in the future,” Thompson stated.

Meanwhile, speaking of the changes in the board, the ECB have appointed four non-executive directors in their management with the likes of Penny Avis, Baroness Zahida Manzoor, Jennifer Owen Adams and Gareth Williams, respectively. Additionally, as per the board, the appointment of two more cricket directors in non-executive roles is underway.