SA to propose performance-based seedings for WC 2003

South Africa is to propose a seeding system for the 2003 World Cup based on the performances of teams over an extended period instead of one tournament.

For the 1999 Cricket World Cup, pool allocations were made according to performances in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Teams were seeded for the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament in Nairobi according to how they fared in the 1999 World Cup.

However, it would be impossible to seed teams in 2003 according to their performance in Kenya 2000 because there was no play-off for third and fourth places.

The period from the end of the 1999 Cricket World Cup to the end of December 2001 would allow 30 months of assessment, as well as enough time for pools and fixtures for 2003 to be drawn up in early 2002.

Teams would be seeded according to their percentage of wins in official one-day internationals, and allocated to two pools on an alternating basis - team 1 to Pool A, team 2 to Pool B, team 3 to Pool A and so on.

The rationale for this change is that it would provide a fairer method of allocating teams to pools. This proposal will be taken to the Executive Board meeting of the ICC in Melbourne in February 2001. The UCB will also propose that the two pools be named after Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Garfield Sobers.

A number of decisions were taken by the United Cricket Board executive committee in Bloemfontein on November 19:

1) The South African domestic cricket programme of 2002/3 will run from early October 2002 to the end of January 2003 in order to preserve pitches for the World Cup (scheduled to start on 7 February 2003) and to avoid an "overkill" of cricket before the World Cup.

2) Sri Lanka will play two Tests in South Africa during late November and early December 2002, followed by a triangular One-Day International series between South Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan will then play two Tests against South Africa - the first starting on December 26 in Durban and the second in Cape Town starting on January 2 2003. Both these series are in accordance with an ICC directive that a Test series constitutes a minimum of two Test matches. The international season in South Africa will thus end on January 6 2003.

3) In order to reach continuity in the national team's management structures, the contracts and/or obligations of the team management will be extended to the end of March 2003. These include: Graham Ford (coach); Corrie van Zyl (assistant coach); Craig Smith (physiotherapist); Goolam Rajah (manager).

4) The panel of National Selectors chosen at the Annual General Meeting in July 2001 will be appointed for two years.

5) Nominations for a new selector to take the place of Gerald Majola, who takes over as Chief Executive of the UCB at the beginning of January 2001. Affiliates may choose to leave the selection panel at five members until the next panel is appointed at the Annual General Meeting in July 2001. Affiliates are also asked to nominate for a black African to take Majola's place on the Executive Committee of the UCB and the General Council of the UCB (As CEO, Majola will automatically sit on the Exco and General Council). Nominations are to be received by 20 December 2000.

6) October 2002 sees the 100th Test match between South Africa and Australia. In light of the fact that black players were excluded from most of those Tests, investigations will be conducted to determine the nature of any Centenary Test celebrations.

7) Daryl Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes will continue to receive their full retainers (R25 750 per month each) until the end of April 2001, after which their contracts will be re-assessed by the national selectors and re-negotiated in light of their reduced commitments to the national team.