Andrew Cornish has been dismissed as Middlesex chief executive after misconduct charges against him were upheld by an independent disciplinary panel. revealed in November that Cornish had been suspended following a complaint by 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 .
“Middlesex County Club confirms that Andrew Cornish was dismissed from his role as Chief Executive of the Club in June,”the statement said.
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 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 office 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 chairman 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 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 and Manchester airport, 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 over £1m in a personal injury lawsuit.
Middlesex was also 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 were 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 was previously sacked from his previous role in cricket at Somerset in 2019.
