CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday that chairman Ian Watmore was stepping down with immediate effect, following criticism of the decision to cancel a tour of Pakistan.

Detailed explanation-2: -The 63-year-old departs citing the toll the position had taken on him personally and the decision – “mutual” in the official media release – is understood to have come after he lost the confidence of the ECB board and a number of the 18 first-class counties.

Detailed explanation-3: -Former ECB chairman Colin Graves has accused Conservative MP Julian Knight of interfering with the running of Yorkshire by blocking his election to the Board this summer and instructing the governing body to remove their right to stage Test matches at Headingley last year.

Detailed explanation-4: -Richard Thompson Richard became Chair of the ECB on September 1, 2022.

Detailed explanation-5: -“I was appointed to the post in a pre-pandemic era, but Covid has meant the role and its demands on time are dramatically different to all our original expectations, which has taken a personal toll on me. “Given this, the board and I feel the ECB will be better served by a new chair to take it forward post-pandemic.”