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Warwickshire chief executive Neil Snowball is to leave Edgbaston to join the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Snowball, 53, who was appointed as Bears CEO in December 2015, will succeed Gordon Hollins as the ECB's new managing director of county cricket.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with Warwickshire," said Snowball, who will effectively serve six months' notice.

Hollins is due to leave the ECB at the end of January, after which Derek Brewer will take on an interim role.

A statement from Lord's said: "The ECB is working closely with Warwickshire in order to agree a timeline for Snowball's transition into his new role which is expected to be at some point in the second quarter of the year."

The exact date of the departure of Snowball - who was also part of the recruitment process for the Edgbaston-based Birmingham Phoenix franchise for The Hundred - will depend on how quickly Warwickshire find his replacement.

As a director of the Birmingham Phoenix board, he will also have to relinquish that role then too.

He follows the same path taken by former Warwickshire sport director Ashley Giles, who left Edgbaston for Lord's just over a year ago to become managing director of England men's cricket.

"This has been a very difficult decision for me to make," said Snowball. "However, I feel very proud of what we have achieved together over the last four years and I am confident that the club is in good shape both on and off the field.

"With a young squad, which boasts several exciting homegrown players, I believe that we will continue to challenge for trophies in the coming years under the leadership of Paul Farbrace."

He added: "We have enjoyed some great moments on the pitch and we have also had the privilege of hosting many outstanding sporting occasions at Edgbaston, including India v Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, England's first ever day/night Test match and of course the five memorable matches in the Cricket World Cup, including that incredible England victory over Australia in the semi-final.

"But there is nothing quite like the Ashes and to be given the honour of hosting the first Test of the series in 2019 was something very special.

"We have also secured our best ever allocation of major matches that will be hosted at Edgbaston between 2020 and 2024, along with the Women's T20 competition at the Commonwealth Games in 2022."