The primary role of the YCB Directors is to promote and develop the game of cricket at all levels and in all situations within the recreational game and to provide governance support via a ‘check and challenge’ approach, primarily through bi-monthly Board meetings. The Directors also promote and implement the Yorkshire Cricket Board Development Plan, through the Yorkshire Cricket brand within the context of the current ECB Strategy (“Cricket Unleashed”) and the County’s Memorandum of Understanding with ECB.
Board members are chosen for their experience and expertise in a variety of business and sporting areas which are of direct value to the YCB, particularly so in the significant period of governance and operational change experienced by County Boards in recent years following structural changes within the ECB. The overall skills sets of the Directors have to match the requirements of ECB with each Director being given a portfolio to oversee and influence.
The Board as a whole is collectively responsible for promoting the success of the Company by directing the Company's affairs. In addition to these requirements for all directors, the non-executive directors are expected constructively to challenge and help develop strategy, to participate actively in the decision-making process of the Board, and to scrutinise the performance of management in meeting agreed goals and objectives.
The majority of Directors currently sitting on the Board operate on a Non-Executive, unremunerated, and voluntary basis, with the overall responsibility for the day to day operations and strategy lying with the Board’s Executive Director, Andrew Watson.
The current Directors are:
Chris West (Chairman)
Chris is a born and bred Yorkshireman, being a former career banker who held a number of senior Corporate Manager positions throughout the North-east. After retiring from Barclays in 2004 following 35 years’ service, he subsequently purchased a cricket correspondents business in 2006 which covered all club cricket from the Scottish borders down to North Yorkshire.
Beyond the professional world he has spent a lifetime in recreational sport. Whilst he enjoyed a successful club football playing and administering career, his main passion has always been cricket. A one-club man, he began playing NYSD cricket for Stokesley in 1965 and amassed more than 1800 wickets and 11,000 runs before his playing retirement in 1998. Chris first became involved in cricket administration in 1967 at the age of 16, undertaking every role within his own club over many years before, in the 1980’s, branching out into league roles with the NYSD. Described in the January 2017 Cricketer magazine as a ‘visionary’, he has been the undoubted driving force behind the many significant developments in the NYSD over the last few decades.
Currently sitting on a number of ECB project groups, including the successful GTGO programme, he has served on a number of Durham CB committees. As well as his current role with the YCB he is chairman of the League Cricket Conference and a director of the National Cricket Conference. He is now in his 15th year as president of the NYSD, before that serving as secretary, and is president of Stokesley CC where his professional and practical expertise played a primary role in the ground redevelopment of 15 years ago that enabled the club to go on to host County second eleven cricket.
Ian Cotterhill (Vice Chairman)
Ian is a Level 2 Cricket Coach who played cricket for Rotherham Town, Rotherham Phoenix, Warmsworth, & Ulley Cricket Clubs in South Yorkshire. He currently serves as
Coach/Manager of the Doncaster Joe Lumb representative side team. Ian previously served as Disciplinary Chair for the South Yorkshire Senior Cricket League.
Ian joined the Board in 2012 and his duties include a remit for Corporate Governance & Companies House matters; Chair of Finance Sub-Committee, Remuneration Committee, and Rules Revision Group. He is also a Member of Scholarship Awards group.
Professionally Ian is the owner of a Steel Trading Company.
Umar Rafiq
Joined the Board in 2015, Umar brings over 20 years’ experience of leading and managing diverse teams of people in the area of sport, recreation and social inclusion within the public and voluntary sectors. Since 2014 Umar has been chair of Yorkshire cricket’s BME Forum having served on the Forum for over 20 years. In 2013 Umar received an Outstanding Services to Cricket Award in recognition of his work in building partnerships within cricket.
Umar’s passion and love of sport is matched to his commitment to use cricket as a force for social good and delivering the vision of building, empowering and inspiring communities. His specialist area within the Board is BME cricket.
Away from his sporting and professional commitments, Umar serves on a management committee for an elderly day care service; is an active member of a tenants and residents association; and serves as a school governor at a local infant and nursery school.
Alan Birkinshaw
Alan became a director of the Yorkshire Cricket Board in November 2016. He has been an official of the Bradford Premier League for 12 years, currently holding the position of development officer and editor of the competition’s website. After being elected as chairman of the Yorkshire Cricket Premier League working party in 2014 he was appointed chairman of the Yorkshire Cricket Premier League Board in 2015.
His specific responsibility as a director of the Yorkshire Cricket Board is discipline and transfers. Alan will be chairing the sub-committee that will be reviewing disciplinary and transfer regulations.
Holly Buxton
Cricket has always been a big part of Holly's life, having watched her father play at Calder Grove CC from a young age. Holly has volunteered within cricket across West Yorkshire for a number of years, at both club and league levels. She has been heavily involved in turning Calder Grove CC around from being a club bordering on dissolution, to a club which is thriving on and off the field, with league successes as well as new cricket opportunities for women and children. Holly is passionate about community outreach and ensuring that cricket is accessible for all. She has most recently used her cricket network to create and run a successful community food bank, which is now being made into a permanent service for the Wakefield district, providing essential supplies to up to 100 households a week. Professionally, Holly is a Chartered Legal Executive, specialising in commercial property law. She works on a wide variety of projects for local, regional and national clients.
Parveen Malik
Parveen is a Managing Director of a Digital Innovation Agency which has locations around the world. Working with a wide pool of talent and diversity from across the globe she has, over the years provided leadership, coaching and mentoring to teams. Parveen has been able to transfer these skills across to cricket specifically her committee role as the Junior Girls Lead and Coach for Bradford Park Avenue Ladies Cricket Club. Playing for the Ladies cricket team, watching her husband play club cricket and also playing an active part in her son’s ongoing cricket journey from junior to Senior cricket has given her a rare insight into how difficult it is for women and girls to impact the men’s senior and junior game. Wanting to make a difference, her love and passion for the game has motivated her to create an environment that promotes diversity and equality through an all-inclusive positive environment for girls where they can feel safe, have fun, build friendships and feel a sense of belonging through playing cricket. Outside of cricket and work, Parveen is also a Trustee for a local mental health charity Mind in Bradford.
Varinder Rehal
Varinder was appointed to the board as a Non-Executive Director in 2020, having been involved in cricket in Yorkshire for over 25 years. He has held roles as club captain, club secretary and treasurer and has played in various leagues in Bradford, Halifax and Leeds. He also plays an active role in helping local communities, schools and charities.
Varinder is a lawyer and chartered secretary by profession and has worked in large multinational businesses for most of his career, recently holding senior positions in both retail and manufacturing. He currently sits on the board of a large company, managing the legal, compliance, human resources and corporate affairs functions of the organisation.
Rob Burton
Rob is a chartered accountant and has spent that last 20 years advising owner managed businesses on mergers & acquisitions and associated strategic matters. He was a partner at Mazars LLP, where he led the relationship with Yorkshire County Cricket Club for the 6 years that Mazars was the principal sponsor, a relationship that significantly increased the brand recognition of Mazars across the UK. He has recently been appointed as Corporate Finance Partner at Garbutt + Elliott, a leading Yorkshire based accountancy practice.
Outside of the professional world, Rob has a genuine love of all things cricket. He was brought up on a cricket field watching his father play in the Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues. Rob has played top level league cricket in the Bradford and Huddersfield leagues for the last 30 years, representing Spen Victoria, Kirkburton, East Bierley, Gomersal and now Lightcliffe. Rob has a keen interest in junior cricket and is passionate about its development, both at club and representative level.
.png)
