The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, the National Cricket Association and the Cricket Council. In April 1998 the Women's Cricket Association was integrated into the organisation. The ECB's head offices are at Lord's Cricket Ground in north-west London.
The board oversees all levels of cricket in England and Wales, including the national teams: England Men (Test, One Day International and T20I), England Women, England Lions (Men's second tier), Physical Disability, Learning Disability, Visually Impaired, and Deaf.
Although the organisation is the England and Wales Cricket Board, it is referred to as the ECB, not the EWCB, as a result of a decision by those overseeing the transition from the previous bodies.
Structure and role
The ECB is run by an executive management team that reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO). Richard Gould took over as permanent CEO in February 2023, replacing Clare Connor, who had held the office on an interim basis since May 2022. He in turn reports to the Chairman of the ECB Board, a position held by Richard Thompson since September 2022.
An executive committee chaired by the CEO is responsible for delivering the ECB's strategic plans. Three other committees – Cricket; Audit, Risk and Governance; and Regulatory – work with the senior management team on policy, planning and strategic issues.
The ECB Management Board is composed of a Chair, a Senior Independent Non-Executive Director, three Independent Non-Executive Directors, five Cricket Non-Executive Directors, the CEO and the Chief Financial Officer.
There are 41 members of the ECB:
The Chairs of the 18 First-Class Counties
The Chairs of the 21 County Boards in National Counties (formerly the Minor Counties) The Chair of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) The Chair of the National Counties Cricket Association
One of the main responsibilities of the ECB is the preparation and development of the teams that represent England at the highest level in Test and ODI play. The National Selector, head coach and other coaches are ECB employees. The ECB also employs the English Test match captain and other centrally contracted players, as well as being responsible for the National Cricket Performance Centre, currently based at Loughborough University in Leicestershire.
The long-term strategy to deliver world championships in the men's and women's games had a successful conclusion in the summer of 2019. England won the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time, emulating the feat of their female counterparts, who had become world champions for the fourth time in 2017.
The ECB is responsible for the financial direction and commercial exploitation of England cricket. It raises revenue from the proceeds of sales for tickets at One Day International and Test matches in England and Wales. The ECB is also responsible for the generation of income from the sale of sponsorship and broadcasting rights, primarily in relation to the English team.
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in the UK. More than 1.1 million adults attend cricket matches each year, while 2.5 million people play the game at all levels in England and Wales. Almost 10 million people – about 20% of the adult population – follow the sport. Since 2009, 4 million schoolchildren have been introduced to cricket by the Chance To Shine programme.
In 2017 the ECB signed a new media rights deal valued at £1.1 billion to cover the five years between 2020 and 2024. This deal will be used to fund a broad range of initiatives across the sport at all levels, including a guaranteed and unprecedented £475 million to fund the county network – First-Class Counties, National Counties and County Boards.
While the ECB administers all aspects of English cricket, the laws of the game remain under the control of MCC.
In April 2017 the Articles of Association were changed to allow a new White-ball Cricket competition to be run from 2020, comprising 8 teams and run during school summer holidays. The T20 event has become The Hundred.
In May 2018 ECB launched an action plan for engaging South Asian audiences in England and Wales. In January 2019 ECB launched its Inspiring Generations strategy for cricket across 2020–2024. The strategy aims to Inspire a generation to say Cricket is a game for me. Alongside its five-year plan, in October 2019 ECB launched plans to transform women's and girls' cricket.