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ICC will remain in Dubai, says Pawar

DUBAI — International Cricket Council is trying to streamline matters after a series of controversies. The body is trying to win back the confidence of the cricket followers which is key for the plans to globalise the game. The ICC has vowed that it will leave no stone unturned to protect integrity of the game.

ICC President Sharad Pawar while addressing a press conference at ICC headquarters in Dubai Sports City on Wednesday said emphatically: “We reiterate our support for the strong and decisive action which was necessary to protect the integrity of the great game of cricket. We support board zero tolerance towards corruption.

“We have stressed, without any comment on the present case, that we will not tolerate any form of corruption in cricket and that we will work tirelessly to root out those who have acted in a way which brings cricket into disrepute.

“The future of our great sport depends on the public maintaining their confidence in the games they are watching.

Pawar added: “The ICC headquarters will remain in Dubai. The matter of relocation is now closed.

“This is big relief for the staff of Global Cricket Academy and we are delighted that this matter has finally been resolved.”

The media were told in the beginning of the meeting that no question about spot-fixing issue will be entertained during the press conference.

Following extensive investigations into allegations about the one-day international between England and Pakistan at The Oval in London on September 17, the ACSU has verified all the available information and concluded that there was no compelling evidence to suspect individual players or support staff. The investigation is now complete but if new and corroborating evidence comes to light then clearly the ACSU will re-open the matter.

The Board approved the recommendations from the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC), which met in Cape Town last month.

These recommendations seek to give exciting content and context for international cricket within the Future Tours Programme (FTP) after 2012 and also to consider future ICC events.

Meanwhile, the ICC has agreed to set up Test and one-day international leagues to crown champions in both formats.

The ICC says the Test league will start almost immediately and culminate in a four-team playoff in 2013.

The ODI league will begin in April 2011 and run through April 2014, leading to a league champion. The ODI league will also provide rankings and automatic qualifiers for the World Cup.

The ICC board also agreed to reduce the World Cup to a 10-team tournament starting in 2015 and increase the World Twenty20 to 16 teams from 2012, with the women’s event continuing to run alongside.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with. We have now agreed in principle to exciting and far-reaching proposals to tackle this most important issue.

“Achieving balance and unanimous agreement is not easy but we have responded well to a strategic priority to restructure international cricket.

The proposals, especially introducing more meaningful context, means we now have the potential to follow international cricket that is even more exciting.

The ICC Board heard reports from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) chief executive, Ashraful Huq, on cricket development in China and also from Justin Vaughan, the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) CEO.

NZC has a principle partnership agreement with the US Cricket Association and will report on progress of the game in America.

liaqat@khaleejtimes.com