Worcestershire not planning chief executive appointment

Matt Rawnsley stepped down in October but a replacement is unlikely to be sought in the immediate future

• Worcestershire move to Kidderminster for Championship opener
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Worcestershire have no initial plans to appoint a new chief executive in the wake of Matt Rawnsley's departure from the role.

Rawnsley stood down in October after 19 months in the role but no replacement will be sought in the new future.

Chair Fanos Hira revealed the developement in a lengthy statement published on the club's official website.

The club will continue to be overseen by Hira, company secretary Sarah Gluyas and commercial manager David Hoskins.

Paul Pridgeon will continue to chair The Cricket Steering Group, who control all sporting decisions. Alex Gidman, Alan Richardson, Kevin Sharp and Kadeer Ali are also part of the panel.

Last season saw Worcestershire reach T20 Blast Finals Day and the knock-out stage of the One-Day Cup.

But their red-ball performances were again lacklustre, as they finished one off the bottom in County Championship Division Two.

Worcestershire offer free tickets to local flood victims

"Our red ball performance disappointed us all – we had targeted promotion and we failed to achieve that," added Hira. 

"Our goal was – and still is – to become a sustainable first division red ball side. For us to achieve this, we’ve clearly more work to do."

Hira's address comes after confirmation that Worcestershire's opening County Championship of the season against Sussex will be moved from New Road.

Kidderminster Cricket Club will now host the game due to two bouts of flooding this year, with Sussex unable to swap the fixture.

"Whilst regrettably these issues are not unprecedented, the increased regularity, on the face of it, is of concern," said Hira. "Since the end of October 2019 our ground, at the time of writing, has been underwater for 62 days."