Wells loses captain's role at Grace Road

Leicestershire have sacked their captain, Vince Wells, and offered the job to the opening batsman, Iain Sutcliffe.

Wells, who joined the county 10 years ago, has been offered a contract as a player, but he has yet to decide on his future. Sutcliffe has not yet accepted the captaincy, either.

Although Leicestershire retained their place in Division One of the County Championship, several senior players left the Grace Road club, including Paul Nixon, Alan Mullally, James Ormon and Ben Smith.

On the wider stage, the game's leading players have won a concession from the International Cricket Council in their drive for a greater say in how the game is run. Five of the 10 members of the influential Cricket Committee (Playing) will be elected by the players. However, the ICC's executive board rejected a proposal to allow the Federation of Cricketers' Associations to represent players in the decision-making process.

The representatives will be elected by the Test-playing captains rather than Fica, and they must have international playing experience. That would rule out Fica's joint chief executive, David Graveney. The Board has also agreed to review player contracts for future tournaments, including the 2003 World Cup.

Indian players came close to boycotting the recent Champions Trophy because they were unhappy about clauses in the contract which blocked personal endorsement deals.