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David Morgan's well earned reputation for being a safe pair of hands masks a determination to embrace the radical if that is in the best interests of English cricket. For a start, Morgan will begin his initial two-year stint as chairman of the ECB, in succession to Lord MacLaurin, by openly questioning the effectiveness of the much-vaunted two-division County Championship. He also believes that, given the influx of EU-registered players into county cricket, the move from one to two official overseas players per county is ill-judged in terms of the financial strain it will put on some clubs.

Morgan wants a thorough and honest review of the current domestic structure to be one of the main planks of a nine-point plan which he is confident can take the England team, and English cricket generally, further forward from their position of increasing strength.

His manifesto has been adopted from the platform of ideas with which he persuaded the First-Class Forum to vote for him ahead of Mike Soper to succeed MacLaurin. Morgan will welcome the fresh input of ideas from Soper, the Surrey chairman, who has accepted an invitation to stand as ECB deputy chairman (in succession to Morgan) and chairman of the FCF.

Morgan and his deputy will assume their new positions in January and Morgan, the 64-year-old former Glamorgan chairman who retired just over a year ago as commercial director of European Electrical Steels, will not shirk from taking a decisive leadership role.

"It is a great privilege to be elected as chairman of the ECB and I am someone who has always enjoyed meeting new challenges," said Morgan, in his first interview since his 11 votes to eight victory over Soper, which was endorsed by the 39 members of the ECB on October 4. "In my business career I was used to dealing with tough situations and making tough decisions. I have had much experience of how to reach agreements by negotiation, and I think I can bring a good balance of experience from both my business and cricket administration lives. I have also been much heartened by many offers of assistance, including those from Ian MacLaurin and from Mike Soper, who said he would be giving me 110 per cent support.

"Cricket in England and Wales has made enormous strides forward under Ian MacLaurin in the six years since the ECB was created to succeed the old Test and County Cricket Board, the Cricket Council and the National Cricket Association. We are one of the few governing bodies that embraces the whole of its sport, we have generated much needed additional income from the de-listing of televised Test cricket, we have brought in and now enhanced the central contracts scheme, and we have established our National Academy plus the creation of county academies.

"What I want to concentrate on is the pursuit of our objectives: namely, to win the World Cup in 2007, and to be ranked the number one Test nation by 2007. To do that, we must continue to make the way we govern our cricket more businesslike. I think it is significant that the number of committees have already been reduced quite significantly since the ECB was born on January 1st, 1997.

"But I also think it is important that we enrich the county game, both at first-class and recreational level, in such a way that our domestic cricket is seen as being more vibrant, more attractive and much healthier. For example, so many of the questions I am asked by people when I go around the counties are why the England players do not take part in more Championship cricket, why there is not more Norwich Union League cricket on a Sunday, why all Championship cricket does not start on a Wednesday - or at least on the same day of the week - and why there is not more cricket to watch on a Saturday.

"There are lots of frustrated county members and spectators out there, due to the lack of predictability and uniformity in the fixture list. I believe we must take the opportunity, now that central contracts have been established as a force for good as far as the England team is concerned, to plan our county cricket structure as something independent from the international schedule."

This is where Morgan's preference for a return to a one-division County Championship reveals the hard-headed, analytical professional behind the softly spoken exterior. It may still be trendy to support the two-division Championship, which was introduced for the 2000 season, but Morgan is not the sort of man to be diverted by trends. He has studied its effectiveness, as a breeding ground for Test cricketers as much as entertainment, and he is far from happy that it has achieved its stated aims.

"I am not convinced that having two divisions is best for the development of England cricketers," he said. "I am not convinced that it has raised standards of play, either, and I have never been one of those who believe that Championship cricket is that soft a game.

"I want county cricket to be the ideal breeding ground for Test match cricketers, and I believe the Championship is a better vehicle for that when each county plays the other once," said Morgan. "All 18 counties are then contenders, and we do not suffer the yo-yo factor between the two divisions which is clearly not a good thing in terms of developing players. Two divisions in the one-day league, however, may be a completely different argument."

The MacLaurin era was a time of much change within English cricket. By necessity, and because of the nature of the man, MacLaurin was never afraid to be outspoken. He achieved much as ECB chairman, and history will judge him well, but sometimes his style brought confrontation and occasionally his lofty profile was counter-productive.

Morgan has shown that he too is unafraid of confronting the major issues, or airing his personal opinions. But his way of doing cricket's business will be markedly different to his predecessor, not least because he will push forward Tim Lamb, as chief executive, to be the front man and to have a firm grip, in the committee room and in his public statements, on the wide range of issues.

The input of Soper will also be an interesting factor in Morgan's period of office. As Morgan agrees, it was excellent for their future working relationship that, before the vote, they shared a lot of common ground. There was no blood spilt during the contest and no major disagreements over policy. Morgan, therefore, can start his new job at the head of English cricket with the confidence of support from around the shires, an established working relationship with Duncan Fletcher and the rest of the England management, and with the quiet strength of mind that comes from deep experience.

Morgan's nine-point plan The nourishment of the Team England concept, allied to the continuation and future prosperity of the 18 county clubs as individual 'centres of excellence', are central to Morgan's plan as ECB chairman. His nine-pronged manifesto can be summed up as follows:

1. Team England Central contracts to continue, within a controlled budget. England management to improve further links with county coaches. Young talent to be fast-tracked through national and county academies.

2. The counties Financial assistance to be given from 2003-05 to non-Test match ground counties in order for them to upgrade their facilities. Given the unknown quantity of guaranteed income beyond 2005, counties to be encouraged to trim staffing levels. To become leaner, first-class counties to be encouraged to link up with neighbouring Minor Counties (playing in the Minor Counties competitions) so that Second XI county games can be reduced. The protection of county cricket's core values as much as a recognition of the need to make it more popular.

3. The Management Board Four of the 10 meetings each year to be special quarterly gatherings, at which Tim Lamb, the chief executive, will produce a report. A movement towards an improved and slimmer management board while maintaining the balance between the representation of the First-Class Forum and the Recreational Forum, together with the MCC and the Minor Counties. A drive for more administrative efficiency.

4. Developing cricket The ECB will continue to do all it can to help recreational cricket clubs thrive and prosper all over England and Wales - in particular, this means sustaining the political lobbying campaign to improve further the tax environment facing clubs. The ECB realises the supreme importance of volunteers to the game and is already well on the way to recruiting the National Strategy target of 10,000 new ones. The ECB will continue to develop schools cricket and encourage the game to be played more within the curriculum. There are already a record 600,000 girls and women playing cricket and the women's game needs to be given every opportunity and support to flourish.

5. The First-Class Forum The FCF to continue to be able to approve the annual budget; a reduction to one delegate per member. First-class county chairmen to meet annually with Morgan, his deputy chairman and the chief executive. A continuation of the recent initiative which sees county chief executives meeting informally to debate common issues and report to the FCF chairman and ECB chief executive.

6. Review All changes to domestic competition structure since 1992 to be assessed in terms of how beneficial each has been (or not).

7. Staffing ECB productivity to continue to be improved; review of fixed costs.

8. Popularise the game Mike Soper famously claimed at the start of his bid to become ECB chairman that cricket in England could become more popular than football. That may be a touch optimistic, but Morgan wants Soper's ideas and energy on board and given a chance. He will also listen to other enthusiasts and be open-minded in his pursuit of what is best for English cricket. Specifically, he wants a greater focus on county cricket and its marketing.

9. International and government affairs As a natural diplomat, Morgan is confident he can represent England with assurance on the world cricket stage. He also aims to build on the good relationships that have been established with the government and other sporting bodies.

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