Lord MacLaurin, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board since 1997, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election for his position next month. MacLaurin's decision is likely to spark an almighty scrap for one of the biggest jobs in cricket, with Surrey chairman Mike Soper, former MCC president Tony Lewis and MacLaurin's current deputy David Morgan the main candidates.

"It has been an immense privilege and honour to serve as chairman of the ECB and I believe we have achieved much in the past six years," MacLaurin said. "However, after giving the matter a great deal of thought, I have concluded that I no longer have the necessary time to devote to this very important role.

"I have many other interests and my work for Vodafone is increasingly time-consuming and has to take priority. I wish my successor the best of luck and stand ready to help cricket in whatever way I can in the future".

Morgan said that "working closely with [MacLaurin] has been both instructive and stimulating and his contribution will be clearly remembered and appreciated by both players and the game's administrators worldwide."

Soper has already announced his intention to challenge for the post, and is the early favourite to get the job. As his deputy, Morgan had no intention of standing against MacLaurin, but is now free to do so, and Lewis has been smoothly moving up the rails in recent times. He has a polished history as both a former England captain and the face of the BBC's cricket coverage.

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