Middlesex CCC chief executive dismissed after complaint by staff member

The Middlesex chief executive, Andrew Cornish, has been dismissed after misconduct charges against him were upheld by an independent disciplinary panel.

The Guardian revealed last November that Cornish had been suspended after Middlesex received a complaint about his alleged behaviour towards a fellow member of staff, which was referred to the Cricket Regulator, the independent body responsible for prosecuting disciplinary cases across the sport.

Middlesex confirmed Cornish’s departure in a statement to the Guardian. “Middlesex County Cricket Club confirms that Andrew Cornish was dismissed from his role as Chief Executive of the Club in June,” it read.

Following an investigation, the Regulator charged Cornish with misconduct and took the case to the Cricket Disciplinary Panel (CDP), whose three-person panel is understood to have found against him. 

The allegations are not regarded as a criminal matter and the case has not been passed to the Metropolitan police. Cornish had denied wrongdoing and is exploring his legal options.

Middlesex have appointed two interim chief executives to cover for Cornish over the past eight months – the MCC’s chief operating officer, Mahdi Choudhury, and the former head of British Cycling, Julie Harrington, who is regarded as a serious contender to take over on a permanent basis. Harrington will face Middlesex members for the first time alongside the chair, Richard Sykes, at a fans’ forum event next Tuesday, when they may provide an update on Cornish’s future.

Cornish joined Middlesex as consultant to the then chief executive Richard Goatley in 2020 before replacing him after he stood down due to ill health the following year. A former chief executive of Somerset county cricket club, a role from which he was ousted in 2019, and Manchester Airports Group, Cornish has presided over a tumultuous period in Middlesex’s history, featuring large financial losses and a legal battle with Goatley, who is suing the club for more than £1m in a personal injury lawsuit. 

Middlesex were given a suspended points deduction and fined £50,000 in September 2023 by the England and Wales Cricket Board for breaching financial regulations, including the misuse of central funding. 

In addition, the club was charged with improper conduct by the Cricket Regulator following complaints made against another senior employee in June 2024, but was found not guilty by the CDP. The Regulator had accused Middlesex of breaching ECB Directive 3.3 – conduct “which is improper or which may be ­prejudicial to the interests of cricket, or which may bring the ECB, the game of cricket or any cricketer or groups of cricketers into disrepute”.

Cornish declined to comment.