By Charles Randall

4 July 2015


The sudden resignation of Vinny Codrington as Middlesex's chief executive means that club cricket has lost a good friend if he decides to end his involvement with the sport.

The Friday night announcement from Lord's came as a shock to those outside the club, though Codrington's service of 18 years was long by modern standards. He was quite close to emulating Essex's secretary Peter Edwards, who became one of the longer serving chief officials on the county circuit until his sudden death in 2000 after 21 years. The length of service that Mike Turner, now 80, gave to Leicestershire – almost his whole career, including more than 30 years in charge – will probably never be matched.

Codrington could not reflect on much on-field success at Middlesex, with their T20 trophy in 2008 as the highlight, but his energy and cheerful demeanour kept the club moving forward. Establishing the club's first training headquarters at Radlett CC in Hertfordshire was a notable achievement, but he was caught up in the recent embarrassing Chris Rogers ticket affair.

Codrington said he had been considering a move for some time. “Over the past few years, I have become increasingly aware of my desire to seek a new challenge,” he said, “and now is a good time for me to make that move. Once I had made that decision, I felt it was in the best interests of both parties for me to move on immediately, so I requested a release from my contract. I am grateful to Middlesex for agreeing to that request.”

The Middlesex opener Chris Rogers, on his final tour with Australia, apologised for a misunderstanding over the resale of Ashes tickets for the Test at Lord’s, which he said had been done openly for his hospitality business, claiming that Middlesex had full knowledge. The ECB regarded the venture as unsanctioned, and Middlesex denied giving permission. The tickets were cancelled and money refunded.

Codrington commented: “Being the chief executive of a sporting organisation is emotionally draining in every sense. After 18 years, this does catch up with you and that is why I have been considering my position. People may assume that the Chris Rogers ticket affair was a factor in this. I cannot deny that we, as a club, made mistakes on the issue. However, it is not a factor in my resignation, nor was I asked to resign by the club.”

He added: “I have had the most incredible time at Middlesex. It has been a privilege and an honour to have served this great club. I have lived the dream, and will always be grateful for the opportunity afforded me. I never thought I would be here for as long as I have, and am looking forward to a fresh challenge. I have made many friends here, and throughout the game, and will always fondly remember my time here.”

The Middlesex chairman Ian Lovett said that it was “with regret” they had accepted the resignation. “Vinny has made a quite remarkable contribution to the development of Middlesex cricket, both the professional game and, in many ways more importantly, at recreational level. In that time the club has been completely revolutionised from top to bottom, whether it has been the streamlining of our committee structure, the professionalism of our cricket department, or the development of our training ground at Radlett CC. He also initiated the club’s relationship with Breakthrough Breast Cancer, which has raised huge sums of money for the charity.”

Lovett added: “He has been an immensely popular chief executive throughout the club and he leaves with the best wishes of the board, staff and members of the club. He will always be welcome at the 'home of cricket' and I would like to thank him from everyone at the club for his brilliant efforts.”