The England and Wales Cricket Board announced it has appointed Nic Coward as Chairman of its newly formed Regulatory Committee.
Coward was previously the CEO of the British Horseracing Authority and General Secretary of the Premier League, starting his 20 years in sports as the Football Association’s first in-house lawyer in 1996. He has held several other senior posts within sport in the UK and internationally, is currently non-executive chair of England Golf and advises sports bodies as an independent consultant. He has served as a member of the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission since 2015.
In his new role, Coward will oversee an eight-strong committee which will include three independent members sitting alongside two senior ECB executives, a non-aligned ECB Board Member, and two appointees drawn from the wider First Class and Recreational game.
Set to come into effect from January, the committee will be appointed by the ECB Board but be wholly independent and have full oversight of all ECB’s rules, regulations and procedures. Its remit will encompass sporting integrity issues including anti-doping, anti-discrimination, financial and governance regulations, and safeguarding.
The Cricket Discipline Commission will retain its historic role, dealing with ‘on-field’ and other disciplinary matters, hearing and ruling on cases and offering advice on wider disciplinary policy. Anti-corruption issues will continue to be handled by the ECB’s Access Committee, chaired by Jane Stichbury.
Commenting on Nic Coward’s appointment, ECB Chairman Colin Graves said: “Nic is a highly respected figure with a strong background in legal and regulatory affairs and he will bring a wealth of wider experience across the sports industry to this role.
“He and the committee will have a major role to play in ensuring that we follow best practice in all areas of governance and sporting integrity – and continue to place a special emphasis on the vitally important issue of safeguarding.”