Critical Lord Marland makes his pitch

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With the first-class counties and MCC set to vote next month, Lord Marland made his pitch as he bids to oust incumbent Giles Clarke.

"The problems facing the ECB are there for all to see. They have become very obvious in the last few weeks," Lord Marland told BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek.

"The ECB have created them through their own injudicious decisions, which are avoidable and have been avoidable over the last two or three years," he added.

"Things have got to change. There are so many burned bridges by the ECB that it needs serious restoration."

Lord Marland, who has pledged to bring his fund-raising flair to the new role and hopes to make an extra £100million available to the 18 counties, is exasperated by the ECB's record of what he sees as missed opportunities and misguided policy under Clarke's stewardship.

Central to his criticism are the decisions to spurn hugely lucrative negotiations with international cricket heavyweights for a foot in the door at the Indian Premier League, in favour of their own controversial relationship with Sir Allen Stanford, and the failure to ensure terrestrial television coverage to take advantage of the surge in interest following England's 2005 Ashes series.

Lord Marland laments the poor administration which, he believes, has squandered the opportunities which have come the ECB's way since the famous triumphs of Michael Vaughan's team four years ago.

"Since 2005, cricket has gone backwards rather than forwards. The ECB have had an unprecedented amount of money coming into the game, and it has not been invested properly," he claims.

"They have missed out on the finances of the IPL and a seat at the top table with India, Australia and South Africa. They have missed out on 160 million dollars from the Champions League deal. It is a shambles."