ICC News: Restructuring the ICC, BCCI Influence & more

[War]

In the light of these recent articles popping up in the last few days, i think this topic deserves a thread.

Speed book tells of Monkeygate 'collusion'

Board news: Cricket needs independent governance - Wisden | Australia Cricket News | ESPN Cricinfo

Peter Roebuck: Cricket's impending crisis | Opinion | Cricinfo Magazine | ESPN Cricinfo

Most know what the problem with the ICC is. The heads of the top 10 nation boards "meet as the ICC", and agree on a direction for the game, and then promptly head off and act in the best interest of the individual board they represent. It's as if they gather in the huddle as a tight-knit group before the match and then instead of dispersing to perform as a cricket team, they play a game of tug-of-war. Which has lead to India's rise of power in the game (which has made them the defacto ICC)

So what basically has to happen is that the responsibilities of decision making that the ICC CHIEF EXECUTIVES' COMMITTEE (10 national boards) has needs to be redirected to the ICC EXECUTIVE BOARD & IDI BOARD OF DIRECTORS (President & CEO) - as it is in football & other sporting governing bodies.

But at the end of the day is still just my POV. So this thread is for us to discuss whats the best way for the major members boards to give the ICC have real power in the game.

 

[sifter132]

I don't know how to fix it (), but I'll certainly agree there is something wrong. You're spot on, the boards don't make rational decisions - it's all selfish. Roebuck mentioned how Chingoka from Zimbabwe is really good at the politics of the ICC. I've also read about the factionalising the group as well, meaning that most votes are split into blocs with the Zimbabwe+SA+Asia bloc almost ALWAYS winning. So stopping those kind of alliances from forming would be helpful in any new system.

 

[King Cricket]

The problems afflicting the ICC are quite insoluble. To state what one already knows, the levers of power are now in the hands of the South Asian bloc, a part of the world where cricket is synonymous with money, sleaze, and corruption.

How Sharad Pawar, a man implicated in multifarious corruption scandals in India, could become the President of the governing council of cricket baffles me. When the person at the very top is corrupt to the bones, it's no wonder that there is mismanagement, inefficiency, and prostitution of cricket for money.

As long as the reins are in the hands of some of the filthiest politicians of the world and as long as politics continues to corrode the fabric of the administration, don't expect any changes in the way cricket is run. ICC is the only sporting body which is not actually a sporting body, but a concocted conglomeration of some hardcore politicians like Pawar or Srinivasan who are only into this due to the monetary appeal of cricket. Check their rise if you want to clean up the mess.

So what basically has to happen is that the responsibilities of decision making that the ICC CHIEF EXECUTIVES' COMMITTEE (10 national boards) has needs to be redirected to the ICC EXECUTIVE BOARD & IDI BOARD OF DIRECTORS (President & CEO) - as it is in football & other sporting governing bodies.

Before that, we need to ensure that the person ensconced in the chair of the President has a clean profile. That won't happen unless the gravity of power shifts from South Asia and politicians stop meddling in the game. The processes of nomination of the President and the representatives of boards are too opaque to go for any radical changes.

I just can't imagine someone like Sharad Pawar becoming the supreme authority of the cricketing world! Since boards will still have their say over the nomination of the President, the rise of tainted individuals will not be precluded in any way.

Also, as cricket's biggest market is the sub-continent, the Asian bloc will still continue to enjoy the upper hand in cricket related affairs, for the sake of keeping the coffers filled. We've literally fallen into a black hole from which there is no way out.

 

[IanG]

Blow it up and start again

 

[sami ullah khan]

^So you think ICC HQ should be shifted to Lahore?

 

[IanG]

^So you think ICC HQ should be shifted to Lahore?

C'mon you really think I meant that literally?

 

[cricket_icon]

im not sure how to change the ICCs internal structure but I would love it if there were changes made to the team ranking. If there was a way of making every Test count towards a climactic final confrontation between the 2 best teams in the world. Plus the spread of Test cricket to so called lesser nations who are not in the top 10 as of yet.

This is how I would do things.
Have a two tier table for test cricket. The top 5 teams and the bottom five teams.
The top 5 teams all play each other and the bottom 5 teams all play each other.
Each test match earns the winning team a set number of points. Draws/ties include points for both teams.
After a period of 3 years, the bottom team in tier 1 gets relegated, while the top team in tier 2 gets promoted.
The two teams in tier 1 with the most points play each other in a one-off test match, the winner becoming Test champions.

Onto my point about involving Associate nations into Test cricket this is what I would propose:
So that the ICC can keep its precious tag of Test cricket, Asociate members will play each other in 3 or maybe 4 day matches.
Which ever of the associate nations has the most number of points having played in the same 3 year period gets promoted as a Test nation. the team with the lowest number of points in tier 2 loses Test status.

I believe this will help reignite interest in Test cricket and allow for cricket to spread to smaller, less involved nations. Countries like Ireland and Netherlands will gretaly benefit from this.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

yeah, a football like setup would be better. as it is I'd rather they just handed it back to the MCC. too much political voting going on, too many countries have vested interests and priorities which lead to direct confrontation.

they should be working as a unit for cricket, not working against each other for themselves.

 

[War]

ICC news: Malcolm Speed backs independent commission proposal | Cricket News | Cricinfo ICC Site | ESPN Cricinfo

 

[cricket_icon]

yes the idea of having an independent commission which can dictate to the various cricket boards (like FIFA) rather than it being the otehr way around would negate the power of the BCCI which is unhealthy in the long run for cricket.

 

[mohit_dude10]

Though it would be great for the game I doubt it would ever happen. There aren't too many countries playing Cricket and the ICC has to depend on these Full members to spread the game all over the World(Financially). Unless the sport becomes global, the ICC have no choice but to depend on the Boards who in return want to have a say in the ICC decisions.

 

[War]

Though it would be great for the game I doubt it would ever happen. There aren't too many countries playing Cricket and the ICC has to depend on these Full members to spread the game all over the World(Financially). Unless the sport becomes global, the ICC have no choice but to depend on the Boards who in return want to have a say in the ICC decisions.

Nah i dont really buy that. Since we can take the example of the Internal Rugby Union. They a similar small 10 main member nations like cricket (along with some other variants) & the IRB executive council is totally independent from the member boards. They are doing just fine & certainly aren't dependent on member boards to spread the game financially.

I guess you can say their no country that supports/plays Rugby has the financial power like India in cricket - which is really the root of the problem with ICC becoming a proper governing body.

----------

Before that, we need to ensure that the person ensconced in the chair of the President has a clean profile. That won't happen unless the gravity of power shifts from South Asia and politicians stop meddling in the game. The processes of nomination of the President and the representatives of boards are too opaque to go for any radical changes.

I just can't imagine someone like Sharad Pawar becoming the supreme authority of the cricketing world! Since boards will still have their say over the nomination of the President, the rise of tainted individuals will not be precluded in any way.

Also, as cricket's biggest market is the sub-continent, the Asian bloc will still continue to enjoy the upper hand in cricket related affairs, for the sake of keeping the coffers filled. We've literally fallen into a black hole from which there is no way out.

For the last couple years i have felt so as well in my deep thoughts, since the rise of the T20 cricket after the India won that Cup in 07 & the ICL/IPL bonanza took off.

This is why i blame all the cricket boards for letting this happen. The ICC should have become strong & independent since Kerry Packer saga ended. The then MCC should have sat down with representatives from all over the world to make an a proper ICC to prevent a Kerry Packer 2.0 from ever happening again in cricket. But they didn't - now Packer 2.0 in the IPL & Modi is 100 times worse given the financial power India & has you said it probably is no way out from this sadly.

A interesting confrontation of India's power will happen when they tour England & Australia this year over the use of URDS. AUS & ENG will definitely want to use that technology - so it will be interesting to see if INDs resistance of URDS, goes as far as them threating to boycott those tours. If that happens maybe then other countries may gang up & force them into a corner & then people at the top will realize its time to get a proper ICC in operation.

 

[sifter132]

A interesting confrontation of India's power will happen when they tour England & Australia this year over the use of URDS. AUS & ENG will definitely want to use that technology - so it will be interesting to see if INDs resistance of URDS, goes as far as them threating to boycott those tours. If that happens maybe then other countries may gang up & force them into a corner & then people at the top will realize its time to get a proper ICC in operation.

Yeah DRS is where we see India's influence ALL the time. I'm personally astounded that the DRS was used in the World Cup. In those scenarios though, where Aus and Eng want DRS but India don't, then I think we'll see the usual knee bending. Aus and Eng will succumb to India's wishes and to be 'nice' India might offer to split some cash from a new 7 match ODI series in October or something... And so the stupidity of international cricket would continue.

Liked the example of the IRB as a good governing body. If cricket could make it to that model, we'd be halfway there.

 

[ferg512]

There's no changing now that India is in control. No one else would dare upset them, as they are the money machine. They've pretty much killed the game with the IPL twenty20 crap, they dont care though as they're making more money than ever.

 

[Chewie]

There's no changing now that India is in control. No one else would dare upset them, as they are the money machine. They've pretty much killed the game with the IPL twenty20 crap, they dont care though as they're making more money than ever.

They've just won the World Cup though, so it's possible they may try and build on that success with more OD stuff - that's why the IPL came about isn't it? Because they won the T20 WC?