Tony Lewis, the former England cricket captain, has been appointed non-executive chairman of World Snooker Limited.
He takes over at a critical time, with the sport beleaguered by financial, commercial and legal problems.
"This is the sort of challenge I like," Lewis said. "My first priority will be to have a lot of conversations with players, media and all the various elements in the sport."
A Cambridge double blue, Lewis played rugby for Neath, Pontypool and Gloucester and in 1969 led Glamorgan to the county cricket championship. When a knee injury ended his career, he turned to journalism and television and radio commentary with considerable success until appointed president of the MCC.
He has also been active in public affairs, being director of the Welsh Tourist Board and chairman of the Welsh Art and Business organisation as well as chairman of the successful bid to stage the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. He was awarded the CBE this year.
But his snooker experience is limited, as he admits. "I've always liked snooker and played a fair bit in my youth," he claimed yesterday.
His appointment coincided with yesterday's AGM of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Limited at the Tickled Trout, Preston, at which a record pre-tax loss of £2,531,541 was reported.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of WPBSA Limited, WS Limited is now managing its commercial assets and organising its circuit.
With tobacco sponsorship, except for the Embassy World Championship, finishing by law at the end of the season, two ranking events sponsored by Regal and the Benson & Hedges Masters at Wembley will have to be funded from other sources.
Only two events have sponsors that are not tobacco companies and both those deals will have run out by October. The BBC contract runs until 2006 but Sky's is due for renewal at the end of next season. In addition, many wounds remain unhealed from years of internecine strife.
Perhaps most worrying of all is the high court action in March in which WPBSA Limited is defending a £3.1m claim by Trans World International in a dispute over television rights.
