Morgan chosen to succeed MacLaurin at ECB

David Morgan looks certain to succeed Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth as chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board after successfully winning yesterday's ballot among the 19 members of the First-Class Forum.

Morgan, the former chairman of Glamorgan and current chairman of the FCF, yesterday beat his rival Michael Soper for the post by 11 votes to eight. Before taking up his appointment on 1 January 2003, Morgan's position needs to be endorsed by all 39 members of the board. The result of the voting by the 18 first-class counties, the 20 non first-class counties and Marylebone Cricket Club will be announced on 4 October.

The decision of the counties to nominate Morgan suggests they are happy with the direction the game has been moving under the leadership of MacLaurin. In that time the England team has become the priority and the influence of the counties has diminished.

Under MacLaurin's reign the major visible alterations to the game have involved central contracts being awarded to England's élite cricketers, the setting up of a national academy – to bring on England's best young talent – and the formation of two divisional leagues in domestic cricket.

While support for such changes has not always been universal among the counties, most if not all would agree that the game is in better shape now than before MacLaurin took charge. The thrust of Morgan's campaign has been to build on the success of the last six years. He, like Maclaurin, realises that the performance of the England team is critical to the financial stability of the game in this country.

Morgan, who was involved in setting up the structure of the ECB, also wishes to build better relationships between the Board and the counties. However, he wants do to this in a more cost-effective way.

This approach has been somewhat different to that of Soper, his sole challenger for the position. The Surrey chairman stated that he wished to return county cricket to a more prominent position in the game. His vision was to make cricket bigger than football stating that county cricket should be played when and where people want to watch.

Speaking about his nomination, Morgan said: "Whilst I recognise that the result of the ballot has yet to be endorsed by the 39 members of the ECB, I am nevertheless delighted to have received the backing of the FCF.

"Michael Soper has clearly gained a significant amount of support, and it will be important for the Board to embrace some of his ideas, especially about the further popularisation of cricket. If my nomination is endorsed, I look forward to working with Michael and others to build on the very positive foundations for the game that have been laid during Ian MacLaurin's tenure of office."

If Morgan gains the support of the ECB, and it would be a major surprise if he did not, his period of office will last for two years before he has to seek re-election. One of the first decisions he may have to make will not be easy: deciding whether England should travel to Zimbabwe to fulfil their fixtures in February's World Cup.