ICC to vote on amending presidency

The ICC will on Thursday vote to amend its constitution, with the aim of making its presidency a ceremonial post with a one-year term. If the motion is passed, as is expected, it will come into effect from 2014 when Alan Isaac's term as ICC president, which begins tomorrow, is completed. This will also lead to the other proposed administrative change - the creation a paid post of chairman - and a decision on the future of the vice-presidency being taken up at the next meeting in October.

The Executive Board, which is chaired by the outgoing ICC president Sharad Pawar, finished its official meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday with another short discussion on pending and inconclusive matters. On Thursday, the ICC's full council will take up the constitutional amendment regarding the presidency. This will be the fourth constitutional amendment in 16 years to the post of president, which has gone from rotational to candidature to ceremonial, inevitably suiting the requirements of the ICC's Board.

The resolution to amend the constitution will require the support of eight out of ten Full Members as well as 38 out of the 50 votes in the full council. According to the ICC's current voting system, the ten Full Members and the 35 Associates have one vote each, while the 60 Affiliates are split into groups of twelve, each of which has a single collective vote, adding up to a total of five. It is expected that Thursday's meeting should not last more than an hour and the resolution should be passed without demur.

The full council is also expected to discuss the recommendations of the Woolf report, which suggested a change in membership criteria. The Associate and Affiliate members were briefed by ICC match referee David Boon and Rahul Dravid during a session held on Wednesday afternoon. While replying to questions, Dravid said it was his personal opinion that he supported cricket for the Associates in order to spread the game, but confessed to being "stumped" when asked by Affiliate representatives why it was that 56% of ICC members, which included Afghanistan, were not given enough attention.

On Thursday, Isaac will succeed Pawar as ICC president and Dave Richardson will take over from Haroon Lorgat as its chief executive. There is also a strong possibility that a successor will be named to Clive Lloyd as chairman of the ICC cricket committee. IS Bindra's four-year term as the presidential advisor will also come to an end.