All 41 members of the board, comprising of the chairmen of the 39 first class and non-first class counties together with the chairman of the Marylebone Cricket Club and the Minor Counties Cricket Association. approved a series of changes to the ECB’s Articles of Association, including reducing the number of directors from 13 to 12.

The new changes, which follow a review led by deputy chairman Ian Lovett, mean the ECB will now exceed the minimum standard required for national governing bodies set out in Sport England’s recent Code for Sports Governance.

The new arrangements will see the new 12-member board of directors comprise of three different categories of director.

The first of these is the independent non-executive category.

These four non-executive directors will be fully independent and will not need to have a close connection to cricket

Five cricket non-executive directors will have relevant experience in cricket and will be required to stand down from any other current cricketing post which creates an actual or potential conflict of interest.

The three final places on the board of directors will be chair and ex-officio roles, the chairman, chief executive and chief financial officer.

The nine non-executive directors will be able to serve a maximum of three three-year terms.

The chair will be appointed for a single term of up to five years with the chief executive and chief financial officer serving as ex-officio members for the duration of their tenure.

The recruitment process for the new positions will begin immediately and the ECB have ensured that at least 30 per cent of the new directors are female as part of its support for gender diversity.

Current board members whose terms of office expire before the next Annual General Meeting or whose roles are affected by the changes to the Articles of Association will be required to stand down in due course.

Commenting on the changes, ECB chairman Colin Graves said: “These are ground-breaking changes to our governance which have been based on extensive consultation with all our stakeholders across the professional and recreational game.

“They will help make the board more representative of the whole game, embracing a broader and more diverse mix of independent voices as well as drawing on the experience and expertise of those working within the cricket network.

“My sincere thanks to our deputy chairman, Ian Lovett, for overseeing such a thorough and comprehensive review process and winning unanimous, game-wide approval for these important and necessary reforms.

“They are fundamentally important to the future of our game; reflecting the ECB’s broader desire to modernise structures, improve strategic decision-making and give cricket the best possible platform for continued growth.”