Dear Member,
When I agreed to take on the role of Chairman in 2023, I did so because this Club means a great deal to me, and because I believed I could be of service at a time when Middlesex needed steady leadership. I set myself, and the Club, a clear set of goals. On the field, I wanted Middlesex men’s and women’s teams that would be competitive and ambitious - teams our members could be proud of, built around the home-grown talent this Club has always produced. Reaching two one day finals this coming weekend is a strong indicator of such progress.
Off the field, my priorities were to put the Club on a sound and sustainable financial footing, to modernise the way we are run, to provide strategic leadership and to rebuild the confidence of our members, our staff and our partners in a club we all care about deeply.
Three years on, and as indicated at the AGM in April, I am proud of the progress we have made together. The Club is more stable than it was, its finances are on a firmer footing, we have a partnership agreement for the future with the MCC and we have begun the important work of refreshing our governance for the long term.
There are now a number of long-term decisions to be made: including the appointment of a permanent Chief Executive, seeing through the financial recovery of the Club and implementing the recommendations of the independent governance reviews. I therefore believe that this is the right time to hand over to a new Chair, as it is my firm view that this next chapter is best led from the outset by a Chair who will see it through, rather than begun by one with only 18 months to run.
We will begin the search for a new Chair immediately, with a nominations committee formed in the coming weeks. There will be no interruption to the running of the Club or to the work already underway.
It has been a great privilege to serve Middlesex as Chairman. I am grateful to my fellow directors, to Julie and the executive team, and above all to the members, staff, players, coaches, and supporters whose commitment makes this Club what it is. I hope to see many of you in person in the coming weeks, at Trent Bridge for the Men’s Metro Bank One Day Cup Final, at Lords for our final championship game, at the upcoming members forum or the end of season members’ lunch.
With my thanks and very best wishes,
Richard Sykes
Chairman, Middlesex County Cricket Club