Power Battle Haunts World Cricket (7 Dec 1996)

7 December 1996

Power battle haunts world cricket

Mihir Bose

THE eyes of the cricket world may be on the southern hemisphere, but this weekend the crucial decisions on the future of the game are due to be taken by an ICC rules committee at Lord`s, writes Mihir Bose.

The ICC`s development committee met yesterday to decide how cricket could be expanded. Coca-Cola have been lined up as a sponsor.

The aim is that, at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, there will be 16 countries, 12 of them fully-fledged Test nations.

The trickier question is about who runs ICC. The newly-formed ICC rules committee will be meeting tomorrow to discuss a successor to Sir Clyde Walcott, whose chairmanship expires next July.

When the ICC met at Lord`s in July of this year, Jagmohan Dalmiya, secretary of the Indian Board, had a clear majority over Krish Mackerdhuj, president of South African Cricket, and Malcolm Gray, from Australia. But Dalmiya`s majority came from the associated countries, which the subcontinent has assiduously courted, and only three Test-playing countries supported him.

Walcott, backed by the older Test-playing countries, argued that the chairman should not be elected by a simple majority but have the support of at least six of the nine Test-playing countries. Walcott`s argument was endorsed by a QC. The subcontinent had its own QC, Michael Beloff, who argued that a simple majority of ICC members could elect a chairman.

It was decided to form a rules committee, headed by John Anderson, a New Zealand banker. Anderson has now produced a long paper proposing that, instead of the present three-year term for the chairman, the ICC should have a president, with the job rotating every year between the Test-playing countries. In addition, the Test countries should have a chairman, preferably a former cricketer, to be elected every year for a maximum three years.

Anderson`s proposal might well mean that the chairman of the Test-playing countries will have much of the power, and the president will become something of a figurehead.

The subcontinent is unlikely to buy this, and one source commented: "This is the old divide and rule policy. They want to devalue the role of the present chairman and make him toothless and give his powers to the chairman of the Test-playing countries."

What all this could show is that the older Test-playing countries, like England and Australia, fear the increasing moneypower of the subcontinent.

Led by Dalmiya, a successful businessman, the subcontinent walked away with a profit of about #31 million from the World Cup when England, who had a guarantee of #250,000, did not even meet their expenses. Dalmiya, who has broken new ground in marketing the game, is keen to use the subcontinent`s newly-found wealth to remodel world cricket: more one-day matches, and even limited-over Test cricket. His proposals would raise fear and loathing in older cricket circles. One cricket insider said: "What it amounts to is, how to accommodate the subcontinent at the top table? They have the money to dictate to the game."

THE real problem with foreign players in our professional football is not the weather or quality of coffee but the Inland Revenue. The Revenue are very concerned with the `image rights` companies these stars have.

The companies, set up nominally to exploit a player`s commercial value, are a Continental idea, which allow the high-profile players lawfully to avoid tax.

A footballer`s salary is divided into two chunks, with the bulk of it paid into an image rights company, which is invariably an offshore company. Tomas Brolin, when at Leeds, was paid a salary of #4,500 a week and #440,000 a year into an image rights company as part of a separate marketing agreement.

The Inland Revenue have told the Premiership clubs that, while they can live with the idea of an image rights company, they will not accept it if the bulk of a player`s wages are paid into such a company. Ten per cent the Revenue may wear, but not much more. The tax men`s stance has got the Premier League worried.

Mike Foster, secretary of the Premier League, has written to the clubs, asking them for details of any image rights problems with the Revenue.

It might be interesting to see how Middlesbrough answer Foster`s letter. When I asked the club if their widely publicised problems with foreign players, such as Emerson - and, now it seems, Fabrizio Ravanelli - had anything to do with questions of image rights companies, Dave Allen, their chief press officer, said: "It`s a matter of club policy, we never discuss any internal policy with the media."

ON Monday, the Premier League chairmen meet in London, and top of their agenda will be trying to find a successor to Rick Parry, the chief executive, who is going to Liverpool. Parry`s succession has been endlessly discussed this week as the chairmen have met in regional secret conclaves: the Midland chairmen at Villa Park on Monday night, the London one at Palm Court on Tuesday night, and the Northern chairmen at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

Three candidates have emerged from within football. Mike Foster, Graham Mackrell, the highly rated secretary of Sheffield Wednesday, and Colin Hutchinson, chief executive of Chelsea. But the betting is the chairmen will go outside football, using a headhunter to recruit.

Another man who could be on the move is Howard Wilkinson, the former Leeds manager. His name has been linked with Borussia Mnchengladbach in Germany.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)