Power shake-up hits counties and MCC

The counties and MCC will lose their seats at the top table of English cricket’s decision-making body in a shake-up of governance of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

To comply with Sport England rules, the ECB is looking to make its executive board entirely independent, which will mean the two county representatives and MCC will be forced to stand down.

Andy Nash, the Somerset chairman, and Richard Thompson, the chairman of Surrey, are the current county representatives. Both will have to resign from their county roles if they wish to stay on the ECB executive board should the changes be agreed. MCC president Matthew Fleming is in the same position.

The plans are in the discussion phase, but resistance among the counties is not thought to be strong and the changes are expected to be voted through. The county seats on the ECB’S executive board are decided by a vote. Thompson was reelected last year. One board member represents the Test grounds, the other the smaller counties.

The Test counties are preoccupied with the allocation process for the next round of international matches beyond 2019. The ECB has dropped the bidding process and will instead allocate matches through a panel chaired by Ian Lovett, the board’s deputy chairman. The matches and host grounds of the eight new Twenty20 teams will be allocated by February.

In the second game of the Independence Cup in Lahore, the World XI beat Pakistan by seven wickets to level the series at 1-1 and set up a decider tomorrow.

A typically bruising innings by Sri Lanka’s left-handed Thisara Perera was enough to take his team over the line with one ball to spare.

Needing 13 off the final over bowled by Rumman Raees, Perera was partnered by Hashim Amla, of South Africa, who was nearing exhaustion after batting through the 20-over innings on a hot evening under the floodlights and in front of a crowd celebrating the return of international cricket to their country.

Perera more than made amends for being the World XI’S most expensive bowler in the opening game by hitting five sixes off his 19 balls and finishing with an unbeaten 47, while Amla ended with 72 off 55 balls.