The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chair Ian Watmore is to step down with immediate effect, it has been announced on Thursday.
As per the ECB release, he has reached a mutual agreement with the Board to stand down following the end of the domestic season and after helping to steer the game through the challenges of Covid over the past year. In Watmore’s first press interaction after England drew flak from Pakistani cricket fans and PCB for England pulling out of its Pakistan tour in September, he said: “I’m very sorry to anyone who feels hurt or let down by our decision, particularly in Pakistan.”
Ian Watmore commented: “It is with regret that I step down as Chair of the ECB, but I do so in mindfulness of my own wellbeing and that of the game which I love. I was appointed to the post in a pre-pandemic era, but Covid has meant the role and its demands on time are dramatically different to all our original expectations, which has taken a personal toll on me. Given this, the Board and I feel the ECB will be better served by a new Chair to take it forward post-pandemic. Leaving now, at the end of the season, gives the Board time to find a new Chair to support cricket through the challenges of the 2022 season and beyond.”
“On a personal level, I also retired last month after five years at the Civil Service Commission and recently became a grandfather. I would now like to retire completely from work and enjoy our great game as a spectator,” Watmore further said.
