Clarke lined up as first ECB president

Giles Clarke will be put forward as the first president of the ECB, after the governing body signalled a proposed change to its constitution. Clarke has been ECB chairman since 2007 but was not certain of re-election; he is likely to be succeeded by Yorkshire's Colin Graves, whose candidacy was also confirmed.

The ECB announced that it had completed a "comprehensive structure and strategy meeting" with the first-class counties and MCC, with unanimous agreement for the changes, which include the creation of the president's role. The proposals will be put to the 41 members of the ECB in writing later this month.

Should Clarke be voted in as president, the role will see him represent the ECB at ICC meetings, maintaining the relationships that helped drive through major changes in the way world cricket is run last year.

Clarke, who was re-elected for the second time in 2012, will complete his term as chairman in May. Graves, currently the ECB's deputy chairman as well as Yorkshire chairman, had widely been expected to contest elections in March. The plan for Clarke to move into a new role would allow both to occupy positions of power at the ECB without the need to face each other in an election.

Support had already been growing for Graves to take over as chairman and his financial nous, as founder of the Costcutter chain, will be valuable as the counties look for greater financial stability. Graves has been praised for his part in resurrecting Yorkshire, who won last year's County Championship, after they came close to bankruptcy in the early 2000s.

It has been a year of change at the ECB and this week's meeting of county chairmen was attended by Tom Harrison, the new chief executive. Harrison starts his role as the successor to David Collier this month and has been charged with developing a new strategic plan for the English game.