Middlesex chair Richard Sykes to resign after three years of upheaval

Richard Sykes is to resign as chair of Middlesex County Cricket Club after three years in charge.

He has told the board of his decision. Members are due to be informed later this week, The Guardian reported on 16 September.

The news ends months of pressure from some of the club's most famous names. Former Middlesex and England captain Mike Gatting led repeated calls for Sykes to stand down.

In April, Gatting joined Desmond Haynes, Mark Ramprakash, John Emburey, Mike Selvey and Clive Radley in an open letter. The veterans described the club as structurally a mess and lacking accountability. Sykes refused to quit at the annual meeting that month. He held on. Now he is going.

Interim chief executive Julie Harrington has accepted his resignation. She will lead the search for his replacement.

Results have added to the strain. Middlesex have missed promotion from Division Two, the second tier of the County Championship, the four-day first-class competition, for the third year in a row. That hurts. A county of Middlesex's size expects to play in the top flight.

There is still something to play for. Middlesex have reached the final of the One-Day Cup, the domestic 50-over competition, against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.

Off the field, the club has faced a separate and serious issue. Chief executive Andrew Cornish was dismissed in June after a complaint about his alleged behaviour from a fellow staff member, which he denies. The ECB's cricket disciplinary committee is understood to have upheld misconduct charges against Cornish. He has launched an appeal.

Sykes's exit is not related to the allegations against Cornish or to the club's handling of the complaint.

Change is already under way at Lord's. Harrington took over as interim chief executive in July. She has commissioned two independent reviews of the club's governance. Director of cricket Alan Coleman is also leaving after five years at the end of the season.

For fans, this means a clean break at the top but no quick fix. A new chair, a new chief executive and a new director of cricket will all need to be found while the team tries to finish the season with a trophy.