Job cut fears if Soper wins election

Senior England and Wales Cricket Board employees face job cuts if the Surrey chairman Mike Soper, rather than the ECB deputy chairman David Morgan, succeeds Lord MacLaurin as chairman of the board in a close-run election, the result of which will be announced at midday today.

Soper, a radical, energetic man who has transformed his county into a formidable unit on and off the field, believes that overstaffing is soaking up revenue better utilised elsewhere.

With the votes from the 18 first-class counties plus the MCC being counted last night, the indications were that Soper, an outsider earlier in the summer, was making a strong run with some counties - particularly those that do not stage internationals. They fear the alternative, Morgan, would offer a MacLaurin mark II and potential oblivion for them.

"Soper might be more risky but Morgan is more of the same, whereas he [Soper] would be more radical," said one official of a non-Test match ground. "He has some especially good ideas for the non-Test match grounds, basically saying that too much money goes to the Test-match counties. And he's done a bloody good job at Surrey."

However, another county, which also wished to remain anonymous, said it felt Soper would prove a loose cannon, adding that this view was even held within his own county of Surrey. Concern was expressed about Soper's potential role representing the board at the International Cricket Council, where increasingly strong diplomacy is required.

Of 10 counties who were willing to divulge their voting yesterday, Derbyshire, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire have committed to Soper, whereas Glamorgan, Lancashire, Middlesex and Somerset have gone for Morgan. The MCC, it may be assumed, will go for Morgan.

Somerset's chief executive Peter Anderson said of Mor gan: "He's done nothing wrong as deputy chairman and is a safe pair of hands. He has all the tact and ability to sweep up after MacLaurin. There is no one who has come forward of MacLaurin's ilk and I should like to think we have found a successor in Morgan."

The former chairman of Glamorgan has been MacLaurin's No2, and while maintaining a low profile away from the counties has been regarded as a calming influence on the chairman. He has deputised at the ICC, and as chairman of the First Class Forum is highly respected in the shires.

The 54-year-old Soper, who suffers from incurable prostate and bone cancer, has promised a review of board spending and that more attention will be paid to marketing the game, particularly county cricket. In spring, when his intention to stand was first announced, he said he intended to make cricket more popular than football in three years. As a good soundbite rather than a realistic ambition, it got him noticed. His first act as Surrey chairman was to fire the chief executive and marketing executive. No fingernail was left unbitten at Lord's yesterday.

But no one will know the true state of play until this morning with the voting being conducted by the Electoral Reform Society. Once the winner has been announced it still remains for the result to be ratified not only by the 19 members of the First Class Forum but the recreational forum as well, 39 votes in all. A final result will be announced on October 4.