Sri Lankan Cricket Fans

Three rounds of voting to select new ICC chairman

It could take three rounds of voting to elect the next ICC chairman, if neither of the candidates in the running win the requisite number of votes. The ICC's annual quarterly meetings begin today, soon after secret ballot voting to pick one of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) head Greg Barclay or the ICC's current interim chairman Imran Khwaja as the next full-time chairman opened.

In all, 16 votes will be cast by directors sitting on the ICC Board: the heads of the 12 Full Members, three directors representing the Associates and the independent woman director Indra Nooyi. Since Khwaja is the current chairman, he cannot cast a vote in that position - but can as acting chair of the Associate members. CEO Manu Sawhney does not have a vote. Barclay can cast a vote though. The winner will need not just a simple majority but two-thirds of the votes cast, or 11 votes.

If neither candidate gets that number of votes, another round of voting will take place - most likely later this week. Should that also not throw up a winner, a final round of voting will take place. If there is no two-thirds majority after that, then it is believed that Khwaja will be appointed the new chairman for a stipulated period. Votes are being cast electronically.

The multiple rounds stipulation - if needed - could be pertinent because of the divisive and secretive nature of proceedings so far. It's been nearly six months since Shashank Manohar stepped down as chairman and since then there has mostly been jostling for the spot, or to have the right man put in the spot. At one point, most heads of Full Member board had emerged as candidates and until very recently the Board could not even finalise the process by which a chairman is to be elected.

Much of that is down to what each of Khwaja and Barclay represent, in terms of the future direction of international cricket. Khwaja and Sawhney, as well as other board heads like Ehsan Mani, are pushing for an extra ICC event in the next calendar as a number of Full Members still rely heavily on revenues generated from those events. Barclay believes - and is backed by boards from India, Australia and England - that bilateral cricket should take precedence, a form of cricket from which these three boards make more money.

That debate, reminiscent of the conditions that led to the Big Three restructure in 2014, has been bubbling away in the backdrop for much of this year as the game's administrators start drawing up a schedule for the next cycle, post 2023.

One way or another, a new chairman will finally be announced soon - a deadline has been set for no later than December 2 to appoint one, though, depending on how voting has gone, it could be sooner.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/30328139/three-rounds-voting-select-new-icc-chairman

Greg Barclay of NZ has been elected as the new chairman of the ICC after Cricket South Africa voted him in the second round of voting.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/30381589/greg-barclay-elected-icc-chairman-second-round-voting

The white smoke is visible and after a long and fractious process, the ICC has elected Greg Barclay as its new chairman. Barclay, the NZC head, secured an all-crucial 11th vote from Cricket South Africa in a second round of voting, to beat Imran Khwaja, who had been the interim chairman after Shashank Manohar stepped down from the post in July this year.

Barclay had 10 votes to Khwaja's six in the first round of voting last week, but ICC stipulations meant he needed 11 - a two-thirds majority of the 16-person ICC Board. That vote arrived in the form of CSA this time and Barclay now becomes, after Manohar, the second independent chairman of the world body. It also ends a secretive and long drawn-out process which has brought to the surface clear divisions among those running the game, and how they see it being run.

Working through those divisions, deepest around the balance between ICC events and bilateral cricket in the next cycle will be front and center of his briefs. That had become one of the major running themes in this election. Barclay, a well-respected administrator admired for his overseeing of the game in New Zealand, is a believer in the primacy of bilateral cricket.

"New Zealand Cricket's been pretty clear in our view around the bilateral playing arrangements, we want to make sure from an international point of view that there is relevance and currency and interest in the international programme. We certainly don't want to be totally reliant on an ICC events programme," Barclay told New Zealand's Radio Sport earlier this year.

Those comments had come after a meeting in Mumbai with officials from the BCCI, CA, ECB and CSA in which the five appeared to find common ground in wanting to push back against the ICC's wishes to squeeze an extra ICC event in the next cycle.

"The commonality in terms of the five is that we've been quite well voiced that we want to see our bilateral rights protected because we see genuine value in them," Barclay said. "The Black Caps are playing well at the moment, they're reasonably well ranked, they're getting good opportunity to play against some of the better countries and we're fortunate that we produce reasonable revenue out of it. So absolutely we want to see those bilateral rights catered for."

The other side, represented by Khwaja, wants to push for the primacy of ICC events in the next rights cycle. Last year, the ICC Board consented to include an extra global tournament in the next cycle, beginning after the 2023 World Cup, meaning that the next eight-year cycle (to 2031) would have one ICC global event (men's and women's) every year: two 50-over World Cups, four T20 World Cups and two editions of this extra event, which is understood to be in the 50-overs format and could be similar to a Champions Trophy, but with six sides.

A commercial lawyer by trade, Barclay has served as a director of NZC since 2012 - a position he will give up to become ICC chair. He was a director of 2015 Men's World Cup, held in Australia and New Zealand, and is a former board member and chairman of the Northern Districts Cricket Association. He is also an experienced company director holding board positions with various New Zealand and Australian companies.

"It is an honour to be elected as the chair of the International Cricket Council and I would like to thank my fellow ICC directors for their support," Barclay said in an ICC release. "I hope we can come together to lead the sport and emerge from the global pandemic in a strong position and poised for growth.

"I look forward to working in partnership with our members to strengthen the game in our core markets as well as grow it beyond that ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket. I take my position as a custodian of the game very seriously and am committed to working on behalf of all 104 ICC Members to create a sustainable future for our sport.

"I'd like to thank Imran Khwaja for his leadership as acting ICC chair during a difficult period for the game and I look forward to continuing a close working relationship with him in the future."

New Chairman of ICC says he is not a supporter of the Big 3 concept.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/30384514/icc-chairman-greg-barclay-subscribe-big-three-concept-all

(11-17-2020, 01:21 AM)Bada Wrote: [ -> ]Three rounds of voting to select new ICC chairman

It could take three rounds of voting to elect the next ICC chairman, if neither of the candidates in the running win the requisite number of votes. The ICC's annual quarterly meetings begin today, soon after secret ballot voting to pick one of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) head Greg Barclay or the ICC's current interim chairman Imran Khwaja as the next full-time chairman opened.

In all, 16 votes will be cast by directors sitting on the ICC Board: the heads of the 12 Full Members, three directors representing the Associates and the independent woman director Indra Nooyi. Since Khwaja is the current chairman, he cannot cast a vote in that position - but can as acting chair of the Associate members. CEO Manu Sawhney does not have a vote. Barclay can cast a vote though. The winner will need not just a simple majority but two-thirds of the votes cast, or 11 votes.

If neither candidate gets that number of votes, another round of voting will take place - most likely later this week. Should that also not throw up a winner, a final round of voting will take place. If there is no two-thirds majority after that, then it is believed that Khwaja will be appointed the new chairman for a stipulated period. Votes are being cast electronically.

The multiple rounds stipulation - if needed - could be pertinent because of the divisive and secretive nature of proceedings so far. It's been nearly six months since Shashank Manohar stepped down as chairman and since then there has mostly been jostling for the spot, or to have the right man put in the spot. At one point, most heads of Full Member board had emerged as candidates and until very recently the Board could not even finalise the process by which a chairman is to be elected.

Much of that is down to what each of Khwaja and Barclay represent, in terms of the future direction of international cricket. Khwaja and Sawhney, as well as other board heads like Ehsan Mani, are pushing for an extra ICC event in the next calendar as a number of Full Members still rely heavily on revenues generated from those events. Barclay believes - and is backed by boards from India, Australia and England - that bilateral cricket should take precedence, a form of cricket from which these three boards make more money.

That debate, reminiscent of the conditions that led to the Big Three restructure in 2014, has been bubbling away in the backdrop for much of this year as the game's administrators start drawing up a schedule for the next cycle, post 2023.

One way or another, a new chairman will finally be announced soon - a deadline has been set for no later than December 2 to appoint one, though, depending on how voting has gone, it could be sooner.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/30328139/three-rounds-voting-select-new-icc-chairman

I think Indian Guy is new chairman of ICc

An Indian guy didn't even contest. Greg Barclay of NZ is the new Chairman of the ICC.

T10 format could be vehicle for cricket's return to Olympics, as ICC steps up interest
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/t10-format-could-be-vehicle-for-cricket-s-return-to-olympics-as-icc-steps-up-interest-1259991

ICC mulls regular Test matches for non-WTC Full Members and Associates in next FTP cycle

Full Members outside the WTC have been pushing for a more formalised "second division" for the WTC

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/icc-mulls-regular-test-matches-for-non-wtc-full-members-and-associates-in-next-ftp-cycle-1260609

Despite a perceived demand for the inclusion of the T10 format in the Olympics, the International Olympic (IOC) and International Cricket Council (ICC) may have to settle for T20Is for the games if cricket were to be included in Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. An overwhelming majority of the 104 ICC members, most of whom are Associates, are believed to be in favour of the T10, but the rules and timeframe for an Olympic berth may not work out for the shortest format.

The difficulty of having T10 in the Olympics is that there would not have been a single global competition on the format by the time a recommendation is made to the IOC. "Please note that the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG) proposal for additional sports is a process that takes place between 6 and 4 years prior to the respective edition of the Games," Andrew Hoffer, a senior manager of the IOC, told Cricbuzz on Friday (April 23), indicating that the IOC and OCOG will have a decision for 2028 Olympics before 2024, by when the ICC would not have organised a T10 global championship.

The ICC has permitted the members to conduct T10 championships and also recognised it as a fourth format in the game (after Test, ODI and T20s) but it has not organised one itself. "Having never conducted a T10 tournament, it may not be possible for ICC to recommend the format," feel the global officials hinting that the T20 will most likely be the world body's recommendation. "Besides, the IOC expects an established format with a World Cup," an ICC member said.

It is not difficult to discern why the Associates prefer T10. A match here finishes in 90 minutes, paving the way for a more games in a day and in turn that can result in more teams at the Olympics. A T20 match needs 180-200 minutes broadly, and this is one of the reasons why only eight teams have been permitted for next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The Associates fear fewer teams will cut down their chances of an Olympic berth.

More

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/icc-consider-expanding-t20-world-cup-to-20-teams-1263075

The T20 World Cup could be increased to include 20 teams as part of the ICC's attempts to develop the game globally.

While the 2021 tournament, currently scheduled to be played in India, will still feature 16 teams, ESPNcricinfo understands there are plans to increase that number from the 2024 edition. Current thinking suggests that version of the event will feature four groups of five teams in its opening phase.

The ICC has long seen the T20 format as a vehicle for the game's expansion and there has been previous talk of such an expansion. The ICC have already confirmed their plans to increase the number of teams in their women's competitions.

But the move sustains a notably more inclusive recent approach from the ICC across formats. This is also likely to involve an increased number of teams (from 10 to 14) in the 50-over World Cup, a more positive attitude towards participation in the Olympics and talk of a return of the Intercontinental Cup (albeit with a different name).

It is, perhaps, the move to increasing the number of teams in the 50-over World Cup which provides the most revealing insight into the changing mood of the ICC. In recent years, the ICC cut the number of teams in the 50-over World Cup (from 16 in 2007, to 14 in 2011 and 2015 and 10 in 2019) arguing that broadcasters preferred the streamlined format with the probability of fewer one-sided games.

There is, however, understood to be a growing appreciation of the need to balance long-term global development with the monetary value of short-term broadcast deals. It may be relevant, too, that since the powers of the 'Big Three' were rolled back in 2017, the influence of other nations has grown.

All these subjects have been discussed in recent Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meetings and, though no firm decisions have been taken, there has been a notably more positive appreciation of the benefits of this expansion from the more powerful Full Member countries. Indeed, it is understood that the subject of the Olympics was raised at a recent CEC meeting by the ECB's Tom Harrison. The BCCI have also recently signalled their desire for involvement, albeit with the caveat that they will not tolerate interference from the Indian Olympic Association.

The Intercontinental Cup has, in the past, provided an opportunity for Associate ICC nations to play a good standard of first-class cricket. It is likely, however, that the revamped tournament, which will almost certainly carry a different name, might provide opportunities for at least some of those nations to play more Test cricket. That could well mean more nations being permitted to play the format and might effectively introduce a second division in Test cricket.

A return of cricket to the Olympics would provide a financial and publicity boost to areas of the global game which have traditionally struggled for both. While the most influential ICC Full Members have, in the past, resisted such a move as it would reduce their window for bilateral series, there is a growing appreciation of the benefits of inclusion in the event. An ICC sub-committee has been set up and will report back to the CEC. Ian Watmore, the ECB chair, is on the sub-committee and is known to be a supporter of cricket's inclusion in principle, believing it will help develop both the men's and women's game globally.

As a result, there is a growing likelihood of inclusion in the 2032 event (which is likely to be held in Brisbane) and a possibility of a bid for the 2028 version (which is scheduled to be held in LA). The number of teams involved and the version of the game to be used remain undecided, though there is growing support for exploring the T10 version, which would probably allow more nations to be involved and enable the event to be included within the small window available.

Praveen Jayawickrama nominated for ICC Player of the Month Award for the month of April. Anyone interested could vote for him by clicking on this link - https://www.icc-cricket.com/awards/player-of-the-month/mens-player-of-the-month

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2165919