Speed: I will not walk away

Malcolm Speed: 'I have no intention of walking away from my position because of the issue' © Getty Images

I read with interest on Saturday morning a story in the media reporting I had been sent a letter from stakeholders within Zimbabwe's cricketing fraternity calling upon me to resign as CEO of the ICC over the organisation's handling of that country's cricketing problems.

I have not yet received the letter but even if and when I do I have no intention of walking away from my position because of the issue. On the contrary, I am determined to use my role to try and ensure the matter is resolved in as satisfactory a way as possible for all sides.

In relation to the letter, it is worth pointing out that the reports indicate it appears to emanate from a group of people currently outside the current Zimbabwe Cricket set-up. Their disenfranchisement may help to explain why they appear to have an axe to grind and I am a convenient target but their accusations against the ICC are wide of the mark.

Those accusations ignore the make-up of the organisation. The ICC is not simply Malcolm Speed or Ehsan Mani [the president]. It is made up of 96 members, all of whom are charged to run cricket in their respective countries or territories without interference from the centre.

From those 96 members come ten Full Members, of which Zimbabwe is one, and the representatives of those ten members, as well as three further delegates from the Associate and Affiliate members plus the chief executive, president and vice-president make up the Board of Directors.

That group is charged with overseeing the running of the game on the world stage but it is not the ICC board's responsibility to dictate how each individual member runs its own affairs. That would be impractical and would also be likely to provoke widespread opposition among members.

Nevertheless, we have recognised the problems that exist within cricket in Zimbabwe and, within our framework, have endeavoured to help resolve them.

I have previously travelled to Zimbabwe to discuss the situation with the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, Peter Chingoka, and players and their representatives. And as an organization, the ICC has consistently urged all disputing parties to get together and resolve any differences they may have.

The ICC has welcomed the decision of Zimbabwe Cricket to step back from Test cricket while it tries to address its problems and has also endorsed the action points issued to its interim committee by the Zimbabwe Sports and Recreation Commission.

These include dealing with allegations of financial mismanagement, ensuring disputes between players and the board are effectively addressed and providing certainty for other ICC members that the strongest possible Zimbabwe cricket team will be able to fulfil future international commitments.

The ICC will continue to urge the interim committee to address the action points in an open and transparent manner and looks forward to hearing back from Chingoka with the results of that work at the meeting scheduled for October.

In the meantime, the Zimbabwe team is performing competitively in its current ODI series against the West Indies but the ICC recognises that restoring the side to one that is competitive at Test level will take some time.

As CEO I will do all I can to assist in that process and I have no intention of shirking the task.