PCB accepts ICC reforms after ‘assurance’ from India

Resolutions have been diluted considerably, says Sethi.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally accepted the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) reforms, ending opposition on the future governance structure and financial model of the game’s governing body.   

The PCB took a strong stand against the proposed plan that gives full control to the ‘Big Three’ – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia – who campaigned to get a bigger share in revenue and decision-making of the ICC.

The PCB, under former chairman Zaka Ashraf and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), were the two boards that had abstained from voting in the last ICC meeting in Singapore , while the rest of the eight Full Members including Cricket South Africa, voted in favour of the plan. Later, SLC also announced their support in favour of the ‘Big Three’, leaving the Pakistan board isolated.

‘Conditional support to revised ICC resolutions’    

The PCB, following the ICC board meeting in Dubai on Thursday, shared their changed stance via a media release.

“The PCB announces its conditional support to the revised ICC resolutions regarding the future governance structure and financial model approved previously by all members excluding the PCB,” said the PCB release.

“The conditions include signing mutually beneficial bilateral cricket tours from 2015-23 with all members, especially India.”

‘India gives assurance on bilateral cricket’

Chairman Najam Sethi was also quoted in the PCB release saying, “We had completed the discussion, consultation and negotiation phase with regard to the revised resolutions.

“It was important for us to get assurances on bilateral cricket with all boards, especially India, which we have now received.

“The detailed Future Tour Programs are now being finalised with all, especially India. The fact that the resolutions have been diluted considerably from when these were first presented, and are now unobjectionable encouraged us to support these.”

The PCB chairman is scheduled to announce a ‘series of other significant achievements’ of the ICC meetings on Friday.

Test hopes for Associates

In a welcome development for the Associates Members, the ICC has decided to open ways for them to earn Test status by introducing the ‘ICC Test Challenge’. The event will take place every four years between the lowest-ranked Test team and winner of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup.

“The ICC board approved the introduction of an ICC Test Challenge which will take place every four years between the lowest-ranked Test team and the winner of the ICC Intercontinental Cup,” said the ICC media release issued after the meeting.

“The proposal is that the 10th-ranked side on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings on 31 December 2017, or at the conclusion of any series in progress at that time, will play two five-day matches at home and two five-day matches away against the winner of the upcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup, with the inaugural Challenge scheduled to take place during 2018.”

In the next eight years, two ICC Intercontinental Cup tournaments are planned with the first to run from 2015 to 2017 and the second to be held between 2019 and 2021. The second ICC Test Challenge is scheduled for 2022.

It was also decided in the meeting that the format and qualification process of the ICC World Twenty20 scheduled to be held in India in 2016 will also have the same format as the recently-concluded one.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2014.

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