David Collier (L) stepped down after spending 10 years at the ECB.
© AFP
David Collier will retire as chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board at the end of the current English season, the governing body announced Sunday. (David Collier Set to Step Down as ECB CEO: Reports )
"After 10 years at ECB I believe it is the right time to step aside and retire from the position of chief executive as I shall turn 60 in the spring and I do believe the time is right for a new CEO to open the batting," Collier said in an ECB statement after British media reports on Saturday had flagged up his impending exit.
He added: "I am immensely proud of the achievements and the enormous strides forward which cricket in England and Wales has made during the past decade."
ECB chairman Giles Clarke, paying tribute to Collier, said: "David has overseen the most successful period of development, playing success and growth for cricket in England and Wales and we are extremely grateful to him." (Also Read: Test Cricket Cannot be a 10-Member Club, Says N Srinivasan )
During Collier's 10 years at the ECB, England have enjoyed several memorable moments, including an Ashes series victory in Australia for the first time in almost a quarter of a century in 2011/12 as well as three home Ashes series wins.
England also went to the top of the International Cricket Council's Test rankings in 2012, again for the first time.
However, they have since slipped dramatically from that position and suffered a 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia in 2013/14.
There was also a first win in an International Cricket Council global tournament on Collier's watch, at the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies.
Off the pitch, Collier played a key role in the lucrative sale of live television rights to a subscription-based broadcaster.
But both Collier and Clarke were key figures in the ECB's short-lived and embarrassing involvement with subsequently convicted fraudster Allen Stanford, which pitted the England side against the businessman's Caribbean all-star team in a $20 million winner-takes-all Twenty20 match in Antigua in 2008. (Also Read: Have Done Nothing to Tarnish the Game, Says N Srinivasan )
Collier's exit is another high-profile change in ECB management personnel since the end of last year.
Paul Downton was appointed as managing director, following Hugh Morris's move back to Glamorgan, before England's embarrassing Ashes campaign in Australia.
In the aftermath of that disappointment, head coach Andy Flower resigned his position.
Flower, and limited-overs coach Ashley Giles, were replaced by Peter Moores, back for a second spell in charge of the England team in all formats.
England also severed all ties with controversial star batsman Kevin Pietersen in a bid to bolster team harmony.
Alastair Cook was retained as captain but has endured a tricky start under Moores and England have not won a Test match since last August, losing six of their last eight matches.
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