Sonn slams 'overblown' ICC administration

Percy Sonn: 'The problem is the lack of ability on the national level to manage ICC events' © Getty Images

Percy Sonn, the incoming president of the ICC, has given advance warning of his approach to cricket's top job by criticising the "overblown" nature of the ICC's administration, while talking of "political divisions" among its most senior directors.

Sonn, the former president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, who succeeds Ehsan Mani next month, said: "The perception that it [the ICC] is a behemoth is not a good thing. The administration is definitely a bit overblown. Malcolm Speed knows what my views are. The problem is the lack of ability on the national level to manage ICC events. The ICC, of necessity, because it owns these events, has to ensure they take place according to its contracts with its commercial partners."

Interviewed in the June issue of Cricinfo Magazine, Sonn conceded that political rivalries and vested interests among the board had to be managed to uphold the original objectives of the organisation.

"We face divisions on the political front. There's always the great desire to have power. And there's this huge cake of money. Each director on the ICC board represents a country. These countries have vested interests in each other's performance. We have the ICC events, which we have carved out with the Future Tours Programme. But then the individual countries arrange tour programmes bilaterally.

"A Zimbabwe game is worth 200 rand but an Indian ODI currently sells for between US$6 million and US$10 million, so who would you want to play more often? The challenge is to give fairness and equity to the original objectives of the ICC, to keep the members in line and on track. This includes expanding the game, protecting the laws and the spirit of the game."

I'm a hands-off president. I like to be in control too, but I don't think, of necessity, it's a president's job to do the work. That's why you have a chief executive

Sonn's first year as ICC president will include World Cup in the Caribbean next March and April, and he acknowledged the concerns arising from availability and cost of visitor accommodation. "We've attempted to get the governments - remember we're sitting here with many independent governments - to try and solve this problem," he admitted. "It's supply and demand. They're full already. They've got so little accommodation that they can charge the world. It can diminish the value of the World Cup."

Sonn also explained that his style as president would differ from that of Mani. "Ehsan is a very hands-on president. I'm a hands-off president. I like to be in control too, but I don't think, of necessity, it's a president's job to do the work. That's why you have a chief executive.

"Some people perceive Ehsan to have become too operational, but it's been for the ICC's good. We are a very much better organisation now than when he took over three years ago. We're much more professional, we've got greater interests everywhere, we've got control, we work to budgets."

Within hours of his remarks being made public, the ICC issued a press release quoting Sonn as saying that he was "privileged to part of such a well-run organisation like the ICC, especially at a time when cricket has never been stronger or more united." He added: "I cannot wait to assume the role of president next month."

This article appears in the June issue of Cricinfo magazine.
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