It鈥檚 been an absolute honour to act as Interim Chair of the 黑料专区 for these past four months.
I know how much cricket means to so many people, I see how much joy it can bring to people鈥檚 lives, and I understand the power it has to improve lives and bring people together.
While our game undoubtedly faces a number of challenges, we have been able to make important progress in many areas and I think there鈥檚 lots for us all to look forwards to as I return to being Deputy Chair tomorrow when Richard Thompson joins us as our new Chair.
Over the past few weeks, we鈥檝e seen again the power of The Hundred to introduce more people to cricket and inspire the next generation. I鈥檝e been delighted to see even more children and families inside the grounds this year. The queues for autographs at the end of games 鈥� and the players鈥� patience in fulfilling so many requests 鈥� has been remarkable.
Seeing Will Smeed and Will Jacks hit the competition鈥檚 first centuries shows what a platform it can provide the young men鈥檚 talent which our counties are producing. And the fact that every ground has recorded a record attendance for the women鈥檚 fixtures shows just how it is powering women鈥檚 cricket forwards.
Congratulations also to Kent and Lancashire for winning their semi-finals in the Royal London Cup yesterday - I hope fans are looking forward to a special day on September 17 when they meet in the final at Trent Bridge. And well done to Berkshire for winning the National Counties One Day Trophy after defeating Cumbria at Wormsley.
The launch of the Disability Premier League this weekend was an important moment for our sport as well. Bringing together players with different impairments in the same competition in this way is ground-breaking. And what a fantastic start to have our first female DPL player, Sue Benson, taking four wickets in one match.
Agreeing an extension to our long-standing strategic partnership with Sky earlier this summer was another important moment, giving cricket certainty over its main revenue stream at a time of a cost of living crisis and ensuring that, while there will be tough choices ahead, we can continue investing in bringing the vision of our Inspiring Generations strategy to life.
We are very aware that there are areas where the game has much important work still to do. While there is a vast amount of work ongoing to make cricket more welcoming and inclusive, the publication of the findings of the Independent Commission on Equity in Cricket this autumn will undoubtedly be another challenging moment for our sport. And I hope the professional game will be able to unite when we receive the final recommendations from the Men鈥檚 high performance review being led by Sir Andrew Strauss, which will propose how we can build sustained success for our England men鈥檚 teams while also securing a thriving domestic game.
With his experience in professional cricket and his passion for the recreational game, I believe that Richard is exactly the right man to lead our game forward at this time, and look forward to working together for the good of English cricket.