Richard Whittam KC has been appointed as the chair of the Cricket Discipline Panel, an independent body set to take over from the Cricket Discipline Commission as the governing body dealing with disciplinaries and the sanctioning of regulatory breaches in English professional cricket. In fact, the the 64-year old barrister, who has been appointed for a four-year term by the ECB board through an open recruitment process, has been an experienced regulatory and criminal barrister and has a history in sports law. Whittam has previously been a deputy high court judge from 2016 until 2022. Last year he was also appointed as the Head of Independent Judiciary for the Rugby Football Union. He chairs discipline, safeguarding, and appeal panels in rugby union since 2014. He is also a member of both World Rugby and European Professional Club Rugby Judicial Panels. In his new role, Whittam will preside over disciplinary cases and make other appointments to the CDP panel, with diverse and relevant expertise. Once assembled, the panel will begin its work, taking over from the current CDC, chaired by Tim O'Gorman. The CDP will receive complaints from a new body-the Cricket Regulator, established in 2023 to regulate and enforce the game of cricket on behalf of the ECB. There are three other high-recommendation suggestions in the ICEC report released in June 2023, pointing towards inequality in race, gender, and class in English and Welsh cricket. Also Read | “IPL Fraud...Rinku Singh” - Fans Reacts After His Another Failure Most cases of the panel will involve violations of ECB Professional Conduct Regulations, though they would also involve rules like the Anti-Corruption code, Player and Match Officials' Minimum Standards, Cricket Playing Conditions, Bowling Review Regulations, Pitch Regulations, and Head Protector Regulations. Whittam, while speaking on his appointment, said: "I am delighted to be appointed to this important role. It is vital to the integrity of cricket that the sport's rules and regulations are upheld. As the first Chair of the CDP I look forward to getting the Panel up and running and ensuring that cases are dealt with promptly, in a fair, thorough and transparent manner." Richard Thompson, The ECB Chair said: "The independent Cricket Discipline Panel will play an important role in enforcing cricket's regulations and dealing with any misconduct and regulatory breaches. Richard Whittam KC has an impressive background in law and sports discipline which makes him the ideal person to chair the Panel. "I'd like to pass on my sincere thanks to Tim O'Gorman and all the panel members from the Cricket Discipline Commission for the service they have given the game over many years. They have performed an important duty in enforcing cricket's regulations, and I'm grateful for their continued service while the new Cricket Discipline Panel members are recruited."