Ousted chief executive hits back in Leicestershire boardroom wrangle

Leicestershire's ousted chief executive David Smith has hit back at claims by Neil Davidson, who resigned as chairman this week claiming that Smith was responsible for the county's precarious financial situation. Davidson justified his removal of Smith in midsummer on the grounds of alleged financial mismanagement that meant Leicestershire faced a forecasted loss of £300,000 this financial year. After his resignation Davidson also criticised Matthew Hoggard, the captain, for then leading a campaign against his chairmanship. Smith strongly defended his record yesterday, stating: "I believe that the audited year-end loss, which will be announced early next year, will be nothing like the £300,000 figure quoted in Neil Davidson's statement." According to Smith, he and the coach at the time, Tim Boon, had both warned Davidson that the signing of Hoggard, the former England fast bowler, and the Australian batsman Brad Hodge would put the club's cricket budget under pressure. "We were told by the board to try and sign Hoggard despite the fact Tim Boon and I told them we could not afford his package from the approved cricket budget," said Smith. "We were assured by the board that Hoggard's costs would be covered by private finance. "The facts are that the board approved the Hoggard and Hodge signing during November in the full knowledge of the potential impact on the club's financial position. The board approved all expenditure for the 2010 financial year and they have to be held accountable." Smith also defended his record during his three years as chief executive, adding that Leicestershire had lost £231,000 in four years before his arrival in 2007 and that he had inherited an over-reliance on non-English-qualified players that severely reduced the county's handout from the England and Wales Cricket Board. Proof that he had transformed the situation, he said, was in the club's own financial statement in February this year in which Davidson himself praised Smith for "doing a first-rate job in cutting costs".