Duke to step down as Chair at Leicestershire County Cricket Club

Leicestershire County Cricket Club have today announced that Mehmooda Duke MBE DL will step down from her role as Chair when her third term ends in March 2022 and will take up the position of High Sheriff for the County.

Duke initially joined the club as an Advisor to the Board in 2017.  She became a Director in 2019 and just two months later became Chair. In doing so, she became the first female in the history of English Cricket to hold this position.

Several years ago, Duke was formally nominated as High Sheriff and she is due to succeed the current High Sheriff, Ian Mattioli MBE, in 2022. She will take office for a year at a Handover Ceremony expected to take place in early April 2022 on a date still to be confirmed. 

During her period as Chair, she led a financial restructure of the Club’s finances with the support of the City Council to provide the Club with much needed financial stability.

Duke led the Club through the Covid-19 pandemic and has implemented strategic changes to drive the club forward off the field while wholeheartedly supporting the vision to both bring in younger players as well as develop and back the exciting crop of home-grown players. 

During her tenure as Chair, Leicestershire reached the Vitality Blast Quarter Final in 2020, the furthest stage reached in the competition since 2017. In 2021, improvements have been made on the pitch with back-to-back home Championship victories witnessed for the first time in recent history.

On announcing her decision, Duke said: â€œI feel honoured to have served as the Chair of Leicestershire CCC. The Club has witnessed difficult times over the last 20 years, so I was well aware of the challenges when I took on the role.

“I am proud to leave the Club in a strong position both on the field and off the field. The Club has an exciting future ahead of it and I am confident that the executive will continue to flourish both under the CEO Sean Jarvis and the highly skilled Board in place.

“I will continue to support the Club in whatever way I can after I stand down at the AGM in March 2022. I look forward to a busy year as High Sheriff next year and wish my successor who will be appointed next March well.”

Leicestershire CEO Sean Jarvis commented: “Having Mehmooda as our chair has been inspirational, she has personally helped me and guided me to look at things from a different perspective.

“It will be a sad day when she steps down, but I am sure she will be on the end of a phone call if I need her.”

ECB chair, Ian Watmore, said: “Mehmooda has been a driving force for good at Leicestershire County Cricket Club and she will leave a lasting legacy on the whole county game.

“On a personal level I have greatly enjoyed working with her, she has always been a supportive source of wise counsel to me, and I wish her well in her new position as High Sheriff.”

City Mayor Peter Soulsby said" "Mehmooda has been a transformational Chair at Leicestershire County Cricket Club and her tenure at the club has certainly been successful.

"As High Sheriff, she will encounter new challenges, and I wish her well in her new role."

Leicestershire County Cricket Club will have three vacancies to be filled during the 2022 AGM “ two Nominated Directors and one Elected Director. Details on the vacancies will be published on the Leicestershire County Cricket Club website in due course.