Soper's bid for control

Surrey chairman Mike Soper is stepping up his campaign to unseat Lord MacLaurin, the chairman of the England Cricket Board.

Soper has invited fellow county chairmen to The Oval next week to outline his ideas. He claims support for him is growing.

MacLaurin has also held a number of meetings with county bosses. Nominations will be made in six weeks and the election will be held at the end of the season.

Soper, a 56-year-old former businessman and one-time club cricketer, is promising radical changes to help improve the development of young English cricketers. "We've got to produce our own heroes and make cricket as exciting for the youngsters as football," he said.

Soper took over as chairman at Surrey in 1995, and has since seen the club win six titles. A seventh now looks likely - they are unbeaten in the Frizzell Championship, 11 points ahead of Leicestershire with a game in hand.

MacLaurin is in his sixth year as chairman of the ECB and is seen as a possible president of the International Cricket Council.