ICC set to move east

The International Cricket Council will announce this week that it is to move from Lord's, according to a report in today's London Daily Telegraph.

The issue of where the ICC should be located has been debated for some time, with a number of countries, including Switzerland, Malaysia and Dubai, being touted as possible alternatives. But the option of remaining at Lord's, its home since 1909, was still considered to be the most likely.

The problem with London, aside from it being an expensive city, is that there are tax implications. The ICC has income of around £100 million and, under UK law as it stands, that means that it is liable to pay tax on this at standard UK rates. In June the government, via UK Sport, said it would offer concessions in a bid to persuade the ICC to stay put. But now it seems that the government has had a change of heart.

According to the Daily Telegraph report, UK Sport has written to the ICC apologising and saying that some Cabinet ministers had objected to the special tax status.

That means there are few reasons to stay, and there are also tax exemptions, relocation expenses and subsidised office space on offer were it to move.

The negotiations were probably not helped by comments made by Richard Caborn, the UK's sports minister, who last week said that he wanted to meet with the ICC to discuss Zimbabwe "when they were in town." That surprised Ehsan Mani, the ICC's president. "The ICC have been in town since 1909," he said. "Our chief executive, Malcolm Speed, is based at Lord's, and I live here."

Dubai is now the front-runner to become the ICC's administrative home. Its financial arm is already based in Monte Carlo, where it receives tremendous tax advantages.