Fanos Hira retires from role as Worcestershire chair

Hira, who has been involved at board level at New Road since 2014, is also stepping aside from the board

Fanos Hira has retired from his role as Worcestershire chair, as well as stepping down from the board.

Hira joined a subgroup of the club's board in 2014 and the main board two years later, before taking over as chair from Stephen Taylor in 2018.

A trained accountant, Hira's expertise took him further afield in the game than New Road, producing a report into the ECB's finances earlier this year, which highlighted the English game's uncertain economic state. His findings suggested that The Hundred had made a £9million loss in its first two years.

Worcestershire have confirmed that they will launch an open process to replace Hira, who has been recommended for honorary life membership of the club by stalwart Paul Pridgeon, the county's vice-chair.

"His efforts and commitment, as a volunteer, have been tireless over the years," said Pridgeon. "Fanos has guided the club through very tough times, including substantial governance reform, the challenging Covid years, and the recent cost-of-living crisis, and his impact on the club cannot be underestimated.

"It is fitting that he has retired as we achieve Division One status, which was always his hope for our club. I wish him all the very best for the future and thank him for his efforts and considerable achievements over the last decade."

Hira, one of the more public-facing county chairs, told The Cricketer during the summer that his job had been made easier by the arrival as Ashley Giles as chief executive. Before the former England spinner, those responsibilities were picked up by then-company secretary Sarah Gluyas.

"I was picking up bits that we had to do," he said. "We are a small club and you rely on the skills of your board because you can't afford to have reams of people with expertise. My role has always been as chair to make sure that the executive team is operating effectively. Now that Ash is in, my job is to help and support him. But I think the reason the distinction is sometimes blurred is that I am very visible."

^{Worcestershire were promoted at the end of the 2023 season (Naomi Baker/Getty Images)}

Hira was appointed as chair in the days after Worcestershire won the T20 Blast title, and he was at the helm when they finished as runners-up in the following year. His departure comes after the club's promotion back to Division One of the County Championship and at the end of a season that has seen a trio of academy products – Dillon Pennington, Jack Haynes and Josh Tongue – all leave for Nottinghamshire.

Speaking to The Cricketer in August, Hira advocated for a fairer compensation system around county transfers, suggesting that in the process it would encourage counties to put more focus and investment into their pathway structures.

"It goes back to your fundamental intent," he said. "Your fundamental intent in your academies and pathways is to develop talent. The issue then becomes people leaving once they've been developed or have that potential. Does that change you having that academy? It wouldn't, no. You could argue it makes it fairer. We are never going to stop investing in our academies and pathways, even if people leave.

"I suppose it probably is more equitable and better for the game, but it wouldn't change our philosophy. I think what it might do, though, is change the philosophy of other counties. That is why I think that development compensation programme does need to be beefed up.

"That would encourage clubs to invest, but we will always invest in ours. Firstly, it's the right thing to do. Secondly, it was a necessity because the club was hamstrung financially and the club was among the lowest total player pay, but we have addressed that over the last three or four years through better stewardship. So, it wouldn't change us."

Of his time at Worcestershire, Hira said: "There have been many highlights for me, but this season, it has been particularly pleasing to see the immediate progress in white-ball and red-ball cricket under the leadership of the club's coaching and management team.

"I wish everyone associated with Worcestershire all the very best for the future, and I look forward to watching the team continue to entertain and compete in the coming years."

Related Topics

• Middlesex sign Henry Brookes from Warwickshire