Wasim Khan, first English player of Pakistani origin to play county cricket, has been appointed as the chief executive of Leicestershire county cricket club. He is trying to revive the the fortunes of the county. He wants to capitalise on the passion for cricket among its large non-white community, a formidable task for Khan. The signing of Pakistan's Umar Akmal is an important step in this process, as is the cultivation of exciting local Asian talent such as Aadil Ali.
"It is a tremendous honour to be appointed as chief executive officer of Leicestershire County Cricket Club and Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket," Khan said. "I am really looking forward to working with all of the staff and the board because I know there are terrific people at Grace Road. It is an exciting opportunity for me.”
A player with Warwickshire and Sussex, Khan moved into cricket administration after retirement. His work with the Cricket Foundation, which included setting up the Chance to Shine scheme aimed at getting more children into cricket, has been highly regarded and earned him an MBE in 2013.
He replaces Mike Siddall, who announced his intention to stand down after four years in the job. Leicestershire finished 2014 without a win in the Championship for the second season running - the first club to do so since the 1930s - and subsequently removed Phil Whitticase from his role as director of cricket. Andrew McDonald, the former Australia allrounder and overseas player with Leicestershire, has been tipped as their new coach.
As well as building greater links with the local Asian community, Khan will also be tasked with addressing the drain of talent from Grace Road. Shiv Thakor, Josh Cobb, Nathan Buck and Greg Smith all left at the end of the season, following the likes of James Taylor, Harry Gurney and Stuart Broad in seeking brighter futures away from the county that developed them.
Essex want to stage T20 under lights
Essex made elaborate plans to exploit T20 interest among the public and plan to stage matches at the Olympics Park in Stratford. Newham Council supports the idea and may be willing to fund the biggest outlay, the cost of a drop-in pitch, believed to be £500,000. Drop-in pitches have not been tried in England and present a challenge, although it should not be insurmountable.
