FORMER Somerset chairman Andy Nash has resigned from his role as a board director at the ECB.

In his resignation letter, he wrote: “I’ve recently become concerned that the standards of corporate governance at ECB are falling well short of what’s acceptable and in all conscience I can’t allow myself to continue to be associated with it.”

He went on to outline a fear that the governing body plan to “promote eight counties as the first among equals [...] this is not a direction of travel I can live with.”

Nash stepped down as Somerset chairman earlier this year after 10 years in the role and had spent 14 years on the board at the ECB.

The "direction of travel" Nash refers to in his letter relates to the alleged payments set to be made by the ECB to counties with Test match grounds.

The Times reported earlier this week that all Test match venues, with the exception of Lord's and the Oval as they stage Tests every summer, would receive £500,000 for each year in which they do not host a Test - this would mean Hampshire, who were not awarded any Tests between 2020 and 2024, would be in line for £2.5m in compensation.

The eight counties with Test match grounds are also those hosting the teams being set up to take part in the controversial new domestic T20 tournament from 2020, which has led to growing fears regarding their power in relation to those counties without such stadia.