Chris Haward has been announced as the new Director of the Cricket Regulator.
He will succeed Dave Lewis, who had been fulfilling the role on an interim basis, and will head up the body responsible for ensuring compliance with the game’s rules and regulations.
Chris joins from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), where he is currently the Chief Constable lead for Serious and Organised Crime. Prior to that, Chris had been Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police and fulfilled a number of roles within law enforcement across a 34-year career.
He started his work in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Leicestershire, before moving to Interpol, specialising in combatting the importation of heroin and supply across the UK. Over his 34 years of service Chris has been a Public Order and Firearms Commander leading the police approach to numerous large scale events including Leicester City’s title-winning Premier League season in 2015.
He became Assistant Chief Constable in Derbyshire in 2016, and in turn was appointed to the role of national lead for Surveillance and Technical Surveillance. He was later promoted to Deputy Chief Constable leading the East Midlands Specialist Operations Unit (EMSOU) where he was responsible for a range of collaborated services including Major Crime Teams, the Serious and Organised Crime Unit and the East Midlands Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit.
Chris was then promoted to Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police in December 2020 before moving to the NPCC in 2024.
Chris Haward said: "I’m delighted to be taking over as Director of the Cricket Regulator. It’s a very exciting role and I look forward to working with everyone to help build understanding of the role and scope of the Cricket Regulator, and ultimately uphold the game’s standards.
"Cricket is an enormous force for good and must be a safe and welcoming space for everyone who loves the game, those who are just entering into the sport and those who are thinking about doing so. We want to support all participants and by upholding the highest standards we can contribute to encouraging new interest and participation. Equally, where those standards are not met, it is important those who let cricket down are held to account.
"The Cricket Regulator has a wide-ranging brief, and I’m looking forward to getting into our work. Across anti-discrimination, anti-corruption, anti-doping, misconduct and safeguarding I believe we can contribute to moving cricket forward and set the benchmark for others to follow."
Nic Coward, chair of the Regulatory Board to whom Chris reports, said: "After an open process to recruit this significant role, Chris was a stand-out candidate amongst a great number of high calibre applicants, and I am delighted that he will be joining us in the New Year.
"His wealth of experience in law enforcement, and the varied roles he has fulfilled across the police, will be of great benefit as he takes up this new role. His obvious enthusiasm for and continuing involvement in the game is a real bonus.
"I’d like to put on record our great thanks to Dave Lewis, who has served with great distinction in the last 12 months as interim director, to set up the Cricket Regulator and establish its role and presence in the game. It is great news that Dave will now join the Regulatory Board, ensuring his great knowledge and integrity continues to help shape all our important work for the game."