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Results of ICC Board meeting

The ICC Board met in Dubai on Tuesday and Wednesday

Sami-ul-Hasan

Umpires' Task Force recommendations accepted; West Indies Cricket Board instructed to investigate allegations against Marlon Samuels; ICC Centenary objectives accepted

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Recruitment Committee established to lead search for next CEO; Zimbabwe audit update; terms of reference for Permanent Medical Committee agreed; host State Association for 2009 ICC Women's World Cup approved; constitutional amendments formally adopted

The ICC Board met in Dubai on Tuesday and Wednesday. Among issues discussed and decisions taken were the following:

Umpires' Task Force

The Board considered recommendations made by the Umpires' Task Force, which met in September, concerning the structure, support mechanisms, remuneration and selection of officials in the future.

The main recommendations accepted by the Board included:

  • The Emirates Elite Panel of Umpires to be expanded from 10 to 12 to cope with busy periods in the cricket calendar, allow the leading officials to spend less time away from home and also allow them to work on their skills and mentor up-and-coming officials in their own domestic set-ups.

  • The development and implementation of an accreditation process for umpires wishing to gain entry to the International Panel.

  • The appointment of five regional umpire coaches/mentors to work under the ICC Umpires' Manager. They would be responsible for working with the Elite and International Panel Umpires from their region as well as all visiting umpires.

  • Agreement that the payment structure for Emirates Elite Panel Umpires should provide sufficient incentive for officials to aspire to be appointed to the Elite Panel; and that each umpire be paid a merit-based increment.

  • The selection of umpires to the panels and to matches should be carried out by an independent three-person selection group chaired by a fourth person, ICC General Manager - Cricket; and

  • The current policy regarding the appointment of neutral (independent of participants) umpires for matches, including ICC events, should be retained.

    • The Umpires' Task Force was made up of David Morgan (Chairman), Geoff Allardice (Cricket Australia Cricket Manager), Ranjan Madugalle (ICC Chief Match Referee) and David Richardson (ICC General Manager - Cricket).

    Marlon Samuels

    The Board received a report from the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, reviewed by the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Commission, Hon. Michael Beloff QC, concerning allegations of inappropriate activity by West Indies player Marlon Samuels, in India in January 2007.

    It is alleged that Samuels has breached the following ICC Code of Conduct Regulations:

    C 4 (ix) Received any money, benefit or other reward (whether financial or otherwise) which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute; and/or

    C 4 (xiv) Has engaged in any conduct which, in the opinion of the (ICC) Executive Board... is prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket

    The Board considered the report and the recommendation of Mr Beloff and has instructed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to carry out an investigation into the matter, and then to report to an Official Enquiry. Such a report is to be compiled in a timely manner and to be submitted no later than the 31 January 2008.

    The Official Enquiry to receive the WICB report will comprise the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Commission and two Code of Conduct Commission Members not connected with the WICB.

    The Official Enquiry will review the findings of the WICB investigation and make recommendations to the Executive Board as to whether the investigation was carried out to the same standard that the Official Enquiry itself would have carried out such investigation and, if a sanction is applied by the WICB, whether it is appropriate given the nature of the conduct under investigation.

    The Official Enquiry will then report to the ICC Board.

    Provided the Official Enquiry is satisfied that the investigation was carried out to a satisfactory standard, the Official Enquiry may either ratify the WICB decision and any sanctions imposed or recommend to the Executive Board that alternative sanctions be imposed, which may be more onerous.

    If the Official Enquiry is not satisfied as to the standard of the investigation it may:

  • Direct the relevant Member (in this case the WICB) to carry out further investigations, or

  • After consultation with and approval of the ICC Board, assume the investigation itself, or

  • Make any other recommendation to the ICC Board in connection with such investigation as it considers appropriate.

    • The ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Officials can be found at:

    The full list of ICC Code of Conduct Commissioners can be found at:

    ICC Centenary

    The ICC's centenary is due in 2009 and the ICC Board discussed ways to mark the occasions. It approved four main objectives:

  • Celebration - A chance to remind the world how great cricket is;

  • Tradition - An opportunity to look back at the game's rich history, to honour past greats and recognise milestones;

  • Reputation - A focal point for cricket's special spirit and an opportunity to present cricket as a leader in terms of diversity and social responsibility; and

  • Fraternity - A time to reaffirm the brotherhood and togetherness of world cricket through a collective commitment from ICC and its Members.

    • It also considered ways to achieve these objectives which will be explored in greater detail in due course.

    Appointment of the next ICC CEO

    A four-man Recruitment Committee has been appointed by the Board to lead the search for a successor to current CEO Malcolm Speed, who is set to step down at next year's ICC Annual Conference in June/July.

    The Committee comprises President Ray Mali, President-Elect David Morgan, Vice-President Sharad Pawar and the Chairman of the Governance Review Committee Creagh O'Connor.

    A recruitment consultant will be appointed and the Recruitment Committee will make a recommendation to the next Board meeting, in March 2008.

    Zimbabwe

    The Board received an update concerning the forensic audit of Zimbabwe Cricket, being carried out by accountancy firm KPMG of South Africa.

    The report is still being finalized and the Board was told an undertaking has been received for it to be completed as soon as possible.

    Approval of terms of reference for a Permanent Medical Committee

    The Board approved the terms of reference for a Permanent Medical Committee with a view to its establishment ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2008.

    Those terms of reference are as follows:

  • The Chairman and four other Medical Committee members will be appointed for a four-year term.

  • The Chairman will be an eminent medical practitioner with relevant sports medicine experience.

  • The other members will be experts in one of biomechanics, player injury, anti-doping and the field of nutrition and health.

  • The Medical Committee will meet once a year.

  • The Medical Committee will report and make recommendations to the ICC Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) which in turn will report and make recommendations to the ICC Board as required.

  • The Medical Committee may co-opt non-voting members.

  • The Medical Committee will have specific duties relating to ICC Events, in particular anti-doping and approving replacement players.

    • Groupings for the ICC World Twenty20 2009

    The Board discussed the groupings for this event following a request by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It asked for early determination in order to proceed with the venue event bidding process which, in turn, would allow match tickets to go on sale at the earliest possible opportunity.

    Given that not enough matches have been played in this format to allow viable official rankings to be established, the Board agreed the groups for the 2009 event would be based on the finishing positions in the 2007 tournament.

    As such, the groups will be (with finishing positions in brackets):

    Group A
    India (1)
    Bangladesh (8)
    Zimbabwe (9)

    Group B
    Pakistan (2)
    England (7)
    Associate 1 (10)

    Group C
    Australia (3)
    Sri Lanka (6)
    West Indies (11)

    Group D
    New Zealand (4)
    South Africa (5)
    Associate 2 (12)

    ICC Women's World Cup 2009

    The Board formally approved the New South Wales Cricket Association as the Host State Cricket Association for the tournament, as recommended by Cricket Australia.

    Constitutional amendments

    At the ICC's Annual Conference earlier this year several constitutional amendments relating to the nomination of the ICC President were discussed and agreed.

    Subsequent to the ICC Annual Conference those amendments to the ICC Memorandum and Articles were formally drafted and a Special Meeting of the ICC, ahead of the ICC Board meeting, adopted them. These amendments are as follows:

  • Removal of the Nominations Committee and the nominations process from the ICC's constitution.

  • Approval of a regional rotation policy for the ICC Presidency, starting in 2008 with a candidate from England/West Indies (David Morgan), followed by India/Sri Lanka (Sharad Pawar); Australia/New Zealand; Bangladesh/Pakistan; South Africa/Zimbabwe; and an Associate/Affiliate representative, before this cycle of rotation begins again.

  • Each region due to assume the Presidency will have its candidate ready to assume the ICC Vice-Presidency two years ahead of time so that a Vice-President is always in place.

  • All ICC Presidents will now be in place for two years, without the option of a third year in the role; and each ICC Vice-President will also serve for two years before assuming the Presidency.

  • Mr David Morgan was formally appointed as the ICC President-Elect and Mr Sharad Pawar was formally appointed as Vice-President.

    • The Board also welcomed three representatives to their first meeting as ICC Directors - Major General Sina Ibn Jamali, the newly appointed President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the England and Wales Cricket Board's new Chairman Giles Clarke, and Dr Julian Hunte OBE, the President of the West Indies Cricket Board.

    The ICC Board, which meets three times a year, is made up of the following Directors:

    Ray Mali (Chairman) - ICC President
    Malcolm Speed - ICC Chief Executive Officer
    David Morgan - ICC President-Elect

    Full Members
    Creagh O'Connor - Australia
    Major General Sina Ibn Jamali - Bangladesh
    Giles Clarke - England
    Sharad Pawar - ICC Vice-President, India (Mr I.S.Bindra attended part of the meeting as an alternate)
    Sir John Anderson KBE - New Zealand
    Dr Nasim Ashraf - Pakistan
    Jayantha Dharmadasa - Sri Lanka
    Norman Arendse - South Africa
    Dr Julian Hunte OBE - West Indies
    Peter Chingoka - Zimbabwe

    Associate Members
    Samir Inamdar - Kenya
    Stanley Perlman - Israel
    HRH Tunku Imran - Malaysia

    Sami-ul-Hasan is ICC Communications Officer