IF the England and Wales Cricket Board wanted the most high-profile personality in English cricket to act as Durham's figurehead they could have looked no higher than Sir Ian Botham.

It is a bold move to appoint him as chairman, and a brave move on his part to take on the role at such a difficult time. In terms of generating interest, the initial impact will be considerable.

Yet it is as difficult to imagine Botham as a puppet of the ECB as it is to believe that he holds that much-maligned body in any higher regard than anyone else connected with Durham. It is also impossible to see him chairing board meetings when he could be golfing, shooting or walking for charity.

The fact that it has taken six weeks since he was first mooted as chairman for the appointment to be confirmed might suggest some hard bargaining. Or perhaps he has been away indulging his love of the great outdoors.

Botham used to be fond of saying “life is not a dress-rehearsal” and if his desire to live it to the full remains as strong as ever who can blame him?

He will not want to immerse himself in the tedious business of balancing the books, but he will carry enormous clout in attracting sponsors and persuading the right people to join him on the board.

Suggestions that he will choose his fellow directors are a little hard to swallow. Having handed out their outrageous punishment, the ECB are driving the re-structuring of Durham and there is obvious potential for conflict with the new chairman.

When he returns from his commentating duties in India it will be interesting to know what concessions he has tried to wring from the board.

It would be good to think that he has told them that to strip Emirates Riverside of its Test status is ridiculously counter-productive. The insistence on a Test stadium and its development in competition with too many others is largely to blame for Durham's debts.

It was stated several weeks ago that Botham wanted assurances about the club's financial stability, so perhaps he had some influence in bringing about the bail-out.

The team will, however, operate under a stricter salary cap than the rest, which won't please him if he tries to use his contacts to attract the most appropriate overseas player.

But at least the current players will be excited by Botham's appointment and will be motivated to make up their 48-point deficit at the foot of division two as quickly as possible.

Life has never been dull with Durham since Botham walked out to open the batting in the Sunday League match against Lancashire which launched them into the first-class arena in 1992.

He completed the dramatic nine-run win by running out Warren Hegg and is certain to be at the heart of more drama in the coming months.

Hopefully, the club is now sufficiently professional to ensure he doesn't become disillusioned as quickly as he did as a player.