Counties may break away from the ECB, warns Andy Nash

Andy Nash, the former Somerset chairman who resigned from the ECB board over the way the game was being run, has warned counties may break away from the governing body.

There are concerns among some counties over the running of the Hundred, the ECB’s new white-ball “concept” that is set to come in 2020, and what it means for the structure of domestic cricket.

“The game is at a crossroads,” Nash told the BBC. “In India and Australia the clubs have seen primacy in the game, and it is now of more value to them than the international format. In England and Wales that hasn’t yet happened but I think that’s the direction of travel.

“Unless trust is re-established in the national governing body by its principal 19 members, then it’s possible that the clubs may look at what has happened in football and rugby where they decide to form their own body within the auspices of the national governing body to represent their interests in a different way.

“That has to be a potential outcome unless ECB are able to get a grip, establish trust and reunify the game around the longer terms aims and objectives.”

The ECB have turned down Surrey’s offer to host a test event for the Hundred in September.