England & Wales Cricket Board President Giles Clarke will report to new Chair Colin Graves in his role as the ECB's first president, according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. Clarke persuaded a meeting of the 18 county chairmen and the Marylebone Cricket Club on Tuesday that he is the "best-qualified person to fill the newly created position of president and represent the ECB" at the Int'l Cricket Council as well as "safeguard the delicate relationship" with India. Graves was formally proposed as the new chairman, "with potential opponents having until the end of January to be nominated." There was also unanimous agreement to "create the new role of president which will now go to a vote of the 41 members of the ECB." Clarke was nominated for that role and will "stand aside as chairman in May." Graves outlined his vision for the future and "promised to deliver a more 'transparent' ECB as well as promise more money for counties" (TELEGRAPH, 1/13). The BBC reported Graves, who has been chairman of county side Yorkshire since '12, said last week that there were "a lot of things to sort out" in the English game. Graves: "Test match ticket sales are falling, and that needs looking at in a big way. We've also got a recreational game in which participation is falling, and that needs looking at too" (BBC, 1/13). The BBC reported in a separate piece former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan said that Graves will "change the game for the better" if he succeeds in his bid to become ECB chairman. Vaughan: "We have a system in England that we have been scared to change. It needs a different energy. In his five-year tenure, I think you will see some changes in English cricket" (BBC, 1/14).
