Eoin Morgan appointed to London Spirit board of directors

Eoin Morgan has been appointed to the board of directors at London Spirit, where he will represent the interests of Lord's owners Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) while sitting alongside their incoming co-owners, the 'Tech Titans'.

The 'Tech Titans' - officially Cricket Investor Holdings Limited - are a consortium of Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs led by Nikesh Arora, the chief executive of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. They bid £144 million for a 49% stake in London Spirit earlier this year, with the deal expected to be ratified soon after lengthy contractual negotiations.

MCC will retain its 51% share in the franchise and their position as majority partners will be reflected on the Spirit board. They will have four out of seven board seats, with their new joint-venture partners appointing the other three directors.

Morgan captained London Spirit's men in the first two seasons of the Hundred, and has a long association with Lord's dating back to his early years at Middlesex. He has recently been ratified as MCC's incoming chair of cricket, replacing the former England batter Claire Taylor, and his new role with London Spirit is the result of his experience and knowledge of franchise cricket.

MCC has also appointed Rob Lawson, their chief executive and secretary, and incoming committee member Julian Metherell to the London Spirit board, but is yet to choose its final director. Metherell emerged as a key figure during the investment process, and was personally thanked by chair Mark Nicholas for his role in negotiations after the Titans' investment.

The eight Hundred deals are approaching ratification after extensive negotiations around key documents, including the participation agreement with the ECB. Richard Gould, the ECB's chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo earlier this month that the process had taken "longer than we thought" but that it had reached "a really good state of play".

London Spirit's women's team, the defending Hundred champions, have also announced an overhaul of their leadership team, with Charlie Dean taking over as captain from Heather Knight, who has been ruled out of the tournament with injury, and Chris Liddle replacing Ashley Noffke as head coach. Knight, the former England captain, will stay with the squad in a mentorship role, with Kira Chathli, who was part of the title-winning Oval Invincibles side in 2022, taking her place in the squad.

Noffke is taking up a new role on the Pakistan coaching staff. "Ashley was a highly respected coach, who will be much missed at Lord's," Fraser Stewart, London Spirit's general manager, said. "I would like to place on record our thanks for the hard work, dedication and excellence he brought to the role, and his key part in securing our first title."