Speed calls on players to uphold Spirit of Cricket in ICC Cricket World Cup, 'the game's biggest shop window'

ICC Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Speed has called on all players to uphold the Spirit of Cricket during the ICC Cricket World Cup as a means of ensuring the tournament is remembered for all the right reasons.

Reflecting on the action to come in the Caribbean, Mr Speed used the latest edition of the ICC's Media Notes publication to express his hopes for the tournament which had its opening ceremony in Jamaica on Sunday evening.

And he wrote: "My one wish for this ICC Cricket World Cup is that the players once again show that even though the game is now highly professional, the Spirit of Cricket that runs through the history of our great sport still runs deep.

"That will help to create a real feel-good factor around the event that can serve as a springboard for its continued growth and development on a long-term basis, both throughout the West Indies and worldwide, one way we can ensure our strong sport gets even stronger."

Explaining why the Spirit of Cricket is such a vital principle to uphold, Mr Speed wrote: "The Spirit is enshrined in the preamble to the Laws of the game which states the need for respect for opponents, team mates, the role of the umpires and the game's long-held values of honesty, fair play and sportsmanship.

"The ICC is dedicated to upholding and enhancing that Spirit and at the ICC Champions Trophy in India last October and November we recruited some of the world's leading players including Rahul Dravid, Brian Lara, Shaun Pollock, Shane Bond and Brett Lee to reinforce that message.

"Why? Because the players, whether they like it or not, are role models for the people who watch the game and whatever they do is likely to be copied many times over on the playing fields and school yards by youngsters who regard them as their heroes.

"The response we got to our decision last year was heartening as the ICC Champions Trophy produced some exciting and memorable cricket and, with just one Code of Conduct breach by a player, we left India remembering the on-field action for all the right reasons."

Praising the hard work of the organisers of this event in the West Indies, Mr Speed wrote: "Bringing the tournament to the Caribbean has presented a massive logistical challenge to the organisers but they have worked extremely hard to ensure we will be rewarded with a superb event.

"(It is) the game's biggest shop window with a global television audience of more than one billion people and (that means) it is cricket's opportunity to showcase itself to the world in a wonderfully positive way."

The opening ceremony of the ninth ICC Cricket World Cup took place at Trelawny in the north of Jamaica on Sunday evening. Two days later the opening match of the tournament will be held at Sabina Park, Kingston when hosts the West Indies face Pakistan.

The tournament will see 51 matches played between 16 teams with the final to be staged at Kensington Oval, Barbados on 28 April. Australia is the defending champion after beating India in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup final in Johannesburg in 2003.

The official website for the tournament is located at www.cricketworldcup.com with scores, statistics, player profiles, interviews and features.

Mr Speed's comments appear in Media Notes, the ICC's publication that has been produced on a regular basis since the start of this year.

The publication promotes major tournaments and ICC events, provides statistics and background information, highlights the women's game and also looks at matches of significance involving the ICC's Associate and Affiliate Members.

And it also keeps readers up to date with the latest movements in the LG ICC Rankings, both for teams - the Test and ODI Championship tables - and individual players.

This latest edition, naturally, focuses on the ICC Cricket World Cup and it includes contact details for the media managers or contacts of all 16 teams taking part in the tournament.

If members of the media have feedback on the publication and what they would like included in future editions, comments should be sent to the ICC media team.

Click here to read the latest Media Notes.