English Cricket Board

The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka 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, 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.

The ECB also leads the sport's efforts with regard to the integrity of cricket, including anti-doping and anti-corruption initiatives, and safeguarding of all who play and administer the game. In the 2017-2018 financial year, the ECB's turnover was £125.5 million.

National teams

Men's Test team: England played in the first Test match, against Australia in 1877, and has been one of the world's leading exponents of the five-day form of cricket ever since. England has been a full member of the International Cricket Council since 1909. The position of Men's Test captain, as of April 2025, is occupied by Ben Stokes.

Men's white-ball team: England featured in the first One-Day International, against Australia in 1971. England won the men's Cricket World Cup for the first time in a thrilling final against New Zealand at Lord's in July 2019. As of April 2025, the team's captain is Harry Brook.

Women's team: England featured in the first Women's Test series, against Australia in 1934–35, where they won 2-0 despite the enduring rancour from the Bodyline series of two winters before. They have won the World Cup four times, most recently in 2017. The team is captained, as of 2025, by Heather Knight.

Under-19s team: The England's Men's U-19 and women's U-19 competes regularly in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cups. Most recent captain (2024): Jordan Cox and Grace Scrivens.

Reserves (A team): The England Lions are the second-tier men's team for developing players. The Lions play warm-up matches and tours in various formats to prepare players for the senior team.

Disability teams: The ECB aims to have 300 clubs offering disabled provision by 2024. The four teams administered by the ECB are:
* Physical Disability
* Learning Disability
* Visually Impaired
* Deaf

County Cricket

First-Class Counties: There are 18 first-class Counties, 17 in England and one, Glamorgan, in Wales. County cricket developed in the 1740s and the first County Championship was played in 1890. From 2020 onwards there are 10 teams in Division One and eight in Division Two. The ECB plays a part in the administration of a county through the County Partnership Agreement, a structure set up in late 2019 designed to improve two-way communication between the ECB and the counties and to ensure the successful implementation of the inspiring Generations strategy between 2020 and 2024.

National Counties: Formerly known as the Minor Counties, these are the 21 areas where cricket is played on a county-wide basis but without first-class status. The Minor Counties Championship was first staged in 1895. From 2020 onwards, the counties’ Western and Eastern divisions are split into two five-team groups between which sides are relegated and promoted. Each county also has a County Partnership Agreement with the ECB.

County Boards: Recreational cricket at all levels in each county is administered by a county board. There are more than 6,500 recreational cricket clubs and 40 county boards in total, including boards for Wales and the Isle of Wight. Each board has a County Partnership Agreement with the ECB. The intention is for the whole of cricket to think collectively about how to work together for the present and future stability and growth of the game.

The ECB also works at grassroots level with organisations such as Chance To Shine that are dedicated to encouraging talented and enthusiastic youngsters to play as much cricket as possible and maximise their potential.

Cricket in Wales: Historically, there have been claims that Wales should break away from the ECB and have its own international team, like Ireland and Scotland. However, Cricket Wales and Glamorgan have consistently supported the ECB and the concept that Welsh players of international standard will continue to represent England.

The County Boards

Subject to certain exceptions, each historic county in England has either an ECB County Cricket Club or Cricket Board as below.
The first-class counties are represented directly at the ECB, whereas the national counties retain a Cricket Board.

* Bedfordshire Cricket Board
* Berkshire Cricket Board
* Buckinghamshire Cricket Board
* Cambridgeshire Cricket Board
* Cheshire Cricket Board
* Cornwall Cricket Board
* Cumbria Cricket Board
* Derbyshire County Cricket Club
* Devon Cricket Board
* Dorset Cricket Board
* Durham County Cricket Club
* Essex County Cricket Club
* Glamorgan County Cricket Club
* Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
* Hampshire County Cricket Club
* Herefordshire Cricket Board
* Hertfordshire Cricket Board
* Huntingdonshire Cricket Board
* Isle of Wight Cricket Board
* Kent County Cricket Club
* Lancashire County Cricket Club
* Leicestershire County Cricket Club
* Lincolnshire Cricket Board
* Middlesex County Cricket Club
* Norfolk Cricket Board
* Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
* Northumberland Cricket Board
* Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
* Oxfordshire Cricket Board
* Shropshire Cricket Board
* Somerset County Cricket Club
* Staffordshire Cricket Board
* Suffolk Cricket Board
* Surrey County Cricket Club
* Sussex County Cricket Club
* Cricket Wales
* Warwickshire County Cricket Club
* Wiltshire Cricket Board
* Worcestershire County Cricket Club
* Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Rutland shares a board with neighbouring Leicestershire, an echo of the 18th century Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket Club. Hampshire as such has two boards given that the Isle of Wight has its own. Westmorland and Cumberland are replaced by Cumbria, a ceremonial county created in 1974. An additional board exists for the whole country of Wales and is incorporated within the ECB.

Most counties have clubs which are members of either the County Championship or the National Counties Cricket Championship. Rutland and the Isle of Wight do not have county clubs and are wholly integrated for that purpose with Leicestershire and Hampshire respectively. Huntingdonshire County Cricket Club has a chequered history and now plays informal matches only. Cumberland and Westmorland originally shared Cumberland County Cricket Club as a joint county club. It is now representative of Cumbria as a whole and plays matches in both of the two traditional counties; there has never been a club called Westmorland.

Domestic tournaments

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) oversees a range of domestic cricket tournaments across formats and levels for both men and women. As of 2025, these include traditional county championships, white-ball competitions, and franchise-based tournaments.

Men's competitions

* County Championship – The premier red-ball first-class competition in England and Wales, played by 18 first-class counties. The structure includes two divisions with promotion and relegation.
* Metro Bank One Day Cup – A 50-over List A competition for the 18 counties. It follows in the lineage of past tournaments such as the Royal London One-Day Cup, Yorkshire Bank 40, and Friends Provident Trophy.
* T20 Blast – The main Twenty20 competition in England and Wales, featuring all 18 counties. Known as the "Vitality Blast" for sponsorship reasons, but officially titled the T20 Blast on Wikipedia.
* The Hundred (men's) – A 100-ball franchise tournament launched in 2021, with eight city-based teams competing. It runs alongside the women's version.

Women's competitions (from 2025)

In 2025, the ECB overhauled its women’s domestic structure by introducing new national competitions aligned with the men’s formats.

* Women's Metro Bank One Day Cup – A new 50-over competition introduced in 2025, replacing the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and featuring eight regional women's teams.
* Women's T20 Blast – Launched in 2025 to replace the Charlotte Edwards Cup, this new tournament mirrors the format of the men's T20 Blast.
* The Hundred (women's) – The 100-ball franchise competition for women, running in parallel with the men’s event and featuring the same eight teams.

Other competitions

* Second XI Championship – A first-class format competition for the second teams of the 18 first-class counties.
* National Counties Cricket Championship – A three-day red-ball competition for the National Counties, formerly known as the Minor Counties.
* National Counties Cricket Association Knockout Trophy – A 50-over competition for National Counties teams.
* National Counties T20 – A T20 tournament for National Counties sides.
* ECB Premier Leagues – A structure of top-level amateur club cricket leagues across England and Wales, serving as the highest tier of recreational cricket.

Defunct or replaced tournaments

These tournaments were formerly part of the ECB structure but have been discontinued or replaced.

* Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – A 50-over women’s competition (2020–2024), replaced by the Women's Metro Bank One Day Cup.
* Charlotte Edwards Cup – A T20 competition for women (2021–2024), replaced by the Women's T20 Blast.
* Women's County Championship

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