In the good old days C. B. Fry was the England cricket captain, a world record long jumper, a full back for Southampton and very nearly the king of Albania. Almost as eclectic is the life of Rod Bransgrove, a former guitar-player and wannabe actor who is committed to the sexing up of cricket but downcast by its dumbing down. He bought Basil Brush, took a hit on Billy Joel and spent Christmas with Shane Warne. His most significant role, though, is the architect of a quiet revolution.

If you want someone to shake up English cricket then the Hampshire chairman is your man, whether it be offering reasons for England’s debacle Down Under or offering a critique of modern society.

Exhibit A: “I was as chuffed as anyone when we won the Ashes, but I was surprised by the extent of the honours that went with it, especially to the bit-part players. I doubt the award of the MBEs was a massive contributory factor to this series, but there was this feeling that we’d conquered Everest when we’d just won the Ashes once.”

Exhibit B: “It’s part of British nature to resent success and there is a sub-culture that dislikes people for having nice cars. It’s the same in Australia. One TV channel there offered money for dirt on Shane Warne. Celebrity culture is gutter level. It’s like this Big Brother thing — I’m reading about it on the front pages but nobody would be remotely interested in it if it wasn’t for the newspaper coverage.”

Here is a man with strong views. When the Rose Bowl was denied Test match accreditation last year, Bransgrove thought about walking away from Hampshire. “In human terms I felt unwanted,” he said. A huge mailbag and sporting figures such as Ian Botham and Matt Le Tissier dissuaded him. Now provisional Test status has been granted for 2010 on the back of a £35 million development plan, but Bransgrove is not about to stop rattling Establishment cages.

Take the repercussions of Sophia Gardens getting its Test status first. “We did not get accreditation for issues to do with the wicket and access and yet there were assumptions that everything would be all right in Cardiff,” Bransgrove said. “What happens? Now there is a backlash against Glamorgan. There is an election for the ECB board and one of the nominees is the Glamorgan chairman, who is finding out people have been harbouring a grudge for some time. In cricket people keep quiet and wait for the chance to get their own back.”

He will not restand for election to the ECB board because he feels there would be a conflict of interest. “Other people have managed to do it but I find that difficult,” he said. “We have to find people who can leave their coat at the door and go in and talk about the benefits to English cricket.” He mentions how the Brit Oval got “a staging agreement for the best part of 20 years for peanuts”. This is no prejudice against a ground where he used to watch cricket after school, but a cry for consistency. “It was inappropriate and possibly unlawful,” he said. “I have a real problem with the differential favour to that ground compared to others. There’s tradition and there’s gratuitous tradition.”

The Rose Bowl does not have tradition of any sort yet and people have been quick to scoff at Bransgrove’s plans or poor ticket sales for last year’s Joel concert. He bristles at the suggestion that the venue is a “rich man’s play thing” or the description of him as “Loadsa-money”, and he says he has never been motivated by cash. “It’s the same with someone like Beefy — if he’s having breakfast and can’t eat more, he’ll eat faster instead.” It was winning and the thrill of the board game that saw Bransgrove climb the corporate ladder and then founded what is now Entertainment Rights with Richard Digance, the Countdown quip-king. His versatility means he can talk children’s television equally as well as cricket. “Pat remains iconic,” he says of Postman. “Thomas, too,” in reference to the tank engine.

The icon with whom he is most indelibly linked is Warne and Bransgrove is protective of his friend. Tradition be damned, celebrate Warne’s highlights and Kevin Pietersen’s earrings. “Our mission is to make cricket sexy,” Bransgrove said. “We had 4,000 members when we came to the Rose Bowl [in 2001]. Now it’s 6,000 and rising. We want to make cricket fun again. People still think I’m in it for the profit — I mean, how much money do I have to lose?” Bransgrove says he has a “history of disagreeing with people” and is not averse to the grandiose statement, claiming that history will credit the Rose Bowl with starting a revolution in cricket stadiums.

The Rose Bowl is subjected to more scrutiny than elsewhere, he claims. Access may be an issue in Hampshire, but “nobody cares if the Edgware Road is closed”. This is the price for being the new kid on the block, but money and mouth notwithstanding, the heart is in the right place. He will remain a man for whom anodyne causes a headache and swiftly moves to another bugbear. “The reduction of overseas players is dumbing down the game,” he said. “It’s no good developing more English players in a lower quality game. The key is for players to progress from the county game to the international one. Dumb it down and that won’t happen.”

Bransgrove comes across as slightly suspicious, but his plans remain bold and vivid. And now Hampshire have the exclusive rights on Warne. “He doesn’t like four-day Tests and would have wanted England to muster a bit more,” he said. “He likes a fight.” The same goes for his boss.