Lord Marland, a former treasurer of the Conservative Party, has confirmed that he will be standing for election as chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Nominations for the position closed at midday yesterday (19 January), with Marland seeking to scupper Giles Clarke's bid for re-election as chair, a position which Clarke has held since he replaced David Morgan in September 2007. A controversial multi-million pound deal with Texan millionaire, Sir Allen Stanford, coupled with the fallout over the rift between Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores has led Marland to believe that he is capable of ousting Giles Clarke, claiming "systematic problems within the ECB that go deep, quite wide and quite a way back."

It is widely expected that the election will cause a split between the counties which will vote for their preferred candidate, with 10 votes needed for an outright victory. Chair of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Neil Davidson, has already voiced his opposition to Clarke's re-election. Davidson told the BBC: "It is not healthy for the ECB to be chaired by someone who is basically unacceptable to a significant number of county chairmen and their clubs."

"I think Jonathan Marland is someone who is capable of representing the ECB politically both at home and abroad, and who also has the business and organisational skills to guide and motivate the executive." The result of the election is expected to be known by early next month, with the successful candidate due to start a two-year term from 1 April.