Michael Vaughan backs Colin Graves as ECB chairman

14 January 2015

Colin Graves will "change the game for the better" if he succeeds in his bid to become ECB chairman, says former England captain Michael Vaughan.

Yorkshire chairman Graves, 66, has promised "a top-to-bottom review" if ECB members approve his appointment.

"We have a system in England that we have been scared to change," Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It needs a different energy. In his five-year tenure, I think you will see some changes in English cricket."

ECB members will be asked to approve Graves' appointment in succession to Giles Clarke later this month.

The convenience-store entrepreneur has been on the board at Yorkshire - where Vaughan also holds a position - since 2002.

From Costcutter to frontrunner
Graves made his fortune as the founder of the Costcutter chain of convenience stores.
He set up the business in 1986 and initially had such small premises that he used his own kitchen as a waiting room for suppliers who were meeting him.
He sold a 51% stake in the business in 2007 for a reported £100m, and the remaining 49% four years later.

The Headingley side won their 31st County Championship this summer, with young England stars Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow all involved.

Vaughan also said he would back a move to replicate the Australian domestic Twenty20 competition in England.

"They should try and streamline it to eight teams in England," Vaughan added.

"They are getting crowds of 50,000 in Australia and something like the Big Bash, over the July school holiday period, could be fantastic."

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