The terrier all set to be the new Graveney

We are going to hear a lot more from the man behind the team's tough stance

Richard Bevan has stepped out of the shadows. When the managing director of the Professional Cricketers' Association requested – on the players' behalf – that England's fixture in Zim-babwe should be moved to South Africa, a new voice was heard in the world game.

And if, as expected, he succeeds David Graveney as the PCA's chief executive sooner rather than later, that voice will be heard more and more.

But just who is the man to whom Nasser Hussain has turned for guidance on the controversy which has overshadowed the build-up to the game's biggest showpiece?

There was a clue at the PCA's annual dinner in September. As cricket's glitterati were preparing to go home after a long evening, Bevan soldiered on with his speech, through the graveyard slot, the murmuring and the departures. The noise would have put anyone else off. But not Bevan.

"Richard is tireless," says Graveney. "His contribution to the PCA has been outstanding." So outstanding that Graveney would be happy to hand over to him. "I have no problem with confirming that there are proposals for change at the PCA," says Graveney. "But they have to be ratified by the executive committee." That body, comprised of player representatives from each county, meets on 11 February. The smart money is on Bevan taking over.

Hussain will be happy if he does, but unworried if he does not. "To be honest, it makes no difference to me what job description Richard has so long as he is the person the players deal with," he said from the team bus after a pre-World Cup practice on Friday. "If it wasn't for him the last two years would have been a nightmare. He's been an absolute godsend."

Bevan's statement last week on behalf of the players was remarkable. Where Hussain had carefully voiced his players' disquiet, Bevan pulled no punches.He lambasted the Government for not adopting a clear position and said that myriad issues had been weighing on the players' minds, "taking into account the moral, political and contractual aspects". Those are now firmly in the public eye when only a fortnight agothe players were being painted as unable to comprehend the issues surrounding Zimbabwe. Bevan has engendered sympathy for the team, and cricket has become yet another problem for Tony Blair.

"Strength and determination are my greatest assets," says Bevan, square-jawed and solid, more in the mould of a flank forward than a leg spinner. "I'm like a terrier. I will not let go until the job is done."

As a young man Bevan, born in Shropshire in 1960, was an amateur footballer, and he admits to frustration that he was far from good enough to play professionally. He played for Liverpool Ramblers, the oldest amateur club in Britain, and formed Shropshire Ramblers, whose occasional guests included Mick Mills, Alan Hudson and Martin Buchan. Personal disaster struck in his late twenties when he suffered a knee injury so severe that it required six operations and physiotherapy which still goes on. But the long recuperation gave Bevan time to decide to give up a career in industry.

"While in hospital, with my leg hanging in the air, I realised I should channel my frustrations into working in sport," he says. He formed a sports consultancy, Fieldsman Management Ltd, of which he remains a director. The company puts together corporate and charity golf days, but though it provided an outlet for Bevan's energy, it wasn't the real thing.

In 1991 he entered the RAC Rally, only to crash out on the third day. On his fourth attempt, in an ex-Mitsubishi works car, he finished in the top half. Now a keen golfer with a handicap of six, he is working to play off scratch.

Determination is what Richard Bevan does best. "I regard myself as the engine room of the PCA team," he says. "I have a sense of urgency, energy, enthusiasm and commitment. I'm working hard to improve my listening and communication skills."

Since joining the PCA in 1996 Bevan has been involved in the introduction of central contracts and increased commercial opportunities for the players. On the agenda now are new standard contracts to secure revenue from image rights, and a full-scale revision of the rules on qualification and registration of players.

Bevan is mindful of cricket's and the PCA's history and acknowledges the debt he owes to the likes of Graveney, Jack Bannister and John Arlott for their work. He insists that he doesn't differentiate between the stars and the youngsters: "The PCA are just as concerned about an 18-year-old minor counties player as the England captain."

As for the England captain, Bevan says they get on well on professional and personal levels. "The more you know Nasser, the more you respect him. He is a deeply emotional, intelligent man who has led his players into a new era."

The admiration is mutual. "He's thoroughly professional and discreet," Hussain says of Bevan. "He only offers advice when he needs to. Richard's work means myself and the players can get on with playing cricket."

Hussain and his men can at least be sure of one thing. As Bevan says: "I might get one or two things wrong, but I will never give less than 110 per cent." People are unlikely to talk over Richard Bevan at the next PCA awards dinner.