ICC bids farewell to Lord's

The soon-to-be-vacated ICC offices © Cricinfo

The ICC's 96-year link with Lord's will come to an end tomorrow when it closes its office in the Clock Tower at the Nursery End and moves its operations to Dubai.

"The move will draw all of the key staff of the organisation together under one roof and make the ICC more efficient and effective," Ehsan Mani, the ICC's president, told reporters. "As the ICC prepares to enter the next exciting phase of its development it does so physically far removed from the shores of England, but forever spiritually at home at Lord's."

The ICC will move into temporary accommodation for two years while new offices in Dubai Sports City are built.

The move had been predicted for a several years. For tax reasons, the ICC had offices in Monaco, and talks with the government aimed at getting tax concessions for the London office finally ended without a satisfactory resolution. That made a relocation a given.

The ICC was formed as the Imperial Cricket Council in June 1909 by the then three Test-playing countries - England, Australia and South Africa with regular meetings at Lord's. It changed its name in 1965 to the International Cricket Conference, then again to the International Cricket Council in 1989 as it developed from a discussion forum to one responsible for running the game.