The England and Wales Cricket Board is looking into an allegation of misconduct against Ian Watmore, its incoming chairman, during a previous role at the English Football League.

The appointment of Watmore, 61, was announced in February – subject to ratification at the AGM next month – and he is due to replace Colin Graves when the Yorkshireman’s five-year tenure at Lord’s ends in November. A report in the Daily Mail, however, has put the ECB’s due diligence under the spotlight by claiming Watmore was the subject of an independent inquiry at the end of his time as a nonexecutive director at the EFL in November 2018.

Watmore, who left the role citing health problems, is reported to have held talks with the Derby County owner, Mel Morris, that led to the threat of possible breakaway league by clubs at a time when the EFL was looking to wrap up a new £595m TV deal with Sky Sports.

The ECB has defended a “rigorous” selection process behind Watmore’s appointment, one that was led by the global executive search firm Odgers Berndtson and a nominations committee chaired by the ECB nonexecutive director Lucy Pearson. But a spokesperson for the governing body has also confirmed that, in light of the Daily Mail’s report, it has appointed two board directors who were not involved in the recruitment process “to review and understand the situation”.

Watmore, in a statement issued to the Daily Mail, has claimed his meeting with Morris in 2018 was simply a case of trying to break an impasse in negotiations with a group of disgruntled clubs before the EFL board went on to sign the rights deal with Sky.

Watmore said: “I became chair of the EFL commercial committee in 2018 and inherited a difficult contract situation over the new TV deal, which had been developing over the previous year. The League was split down the middle over the deal and I sought discussions with a leading representative to explore ways we could overcome this impasse. That meeting, and conversations within it, were shared with the board and executive colleagues at the time.

“In the event, all work to bring the deal to a successful outcome was delivered on, when it was signed after a unanimous vote by the EFL board on which I sat. My resignation from the EFL role was taken after medical advice in November 2018. Since then, I have willingly participated in reviews by the EFL into the overall rights sale process and my role within it.

“During my short period at the organisation I operated with honesty and integrity and until today I have not heard any reports from the EFL that their view is any different.”

The EFL’s independent review into the matter was completed in February but has not been made public. A spokesperson has declined to comment on the Daily Mail’s claim due to its “confidential and sensitive nature”.