Results of day one of ICC Board meeting

ICC CWC 2011 matches and tournament secretariat to be moved out of Pakistan because of uncertainty over security situation ICC President David Morgan: “It is a regrettable decision but our number one priority is to create certainty and allow us to press on with the work necessary to deliver a safe, secure and successful event” Board asks Lord Condon to head a task team to review security arrangements for international cricket; ICC to approach other sports to seek information-sharing on security protocols Task team on Zimbabwe submits report, sets out pathway for sustainable return to Test cricket Ravi Shastri replaces Michael Holding on ICC Cricket Committee Audio available at www.icc-cricket.com ****

Friday saw the first day of the ICC Board meeting in Dubai, the second of the four scheduled meetings it holds in a year.

Among the items discussed during the day were:

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

The Board resolved that, given the current uncertainty surrounding the security situation within Pakistan, the country should not host matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup (ICC CWC) 2011.

This means the event will now be hosted in three countries, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

The tournament secretariat will move from Pakistan to a location to be determined by the tournament’s Central Organising Committee.

Explaining the decision to shift ICC CWC 2011 matches away from Pakistan, ICC President David Morgan said: “It is extremely regrettable that the Board has had to take this decision given the passion the people of Pakistan have for the game of cricket and for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

“However, our number one priority was and is to deliver a safe, secure and successful event and the uncertainty created by events within Pakistan created a huge question mark over our ability to do just that.

“That was something we saw all too clearly with the delay over the decision of whether or not Pakistan could host the ICC Champions Trophy last year. The event ended up being postponed and we cannot afford a repeat of that uncertainty or any form of postponement for this event.

“By making this decision now we hope we can put a great deal of any uncertainty to one side and press on with our preparations which, given this is cricket’s biggest and most high profile event within our range of tournaments, are substantial.”

Lahore incident

The Board received a report on the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team and match officials that took place in Lahore on 3 March, the scheduled third day of the second Test between Pakistan and the visiting side.

It also heard from Emirates Elite Panel ICC match referee Chris Broad, who was on duty for the match, as well as Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jaywardena via telephone hook-up from South Africa. Pakistan captain Younus Khan was unable to attend.

Following discussions, the Board asked Lord Condon, the Chairman of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, to lead a task team to include ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and ICC directors Jack Clarke and Shashank Manohar which would conduct a comprehensive review of security arrangements for all international cricket.

Commenting on what it would involve, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “This review will include an assessment of whether current protocols employed by our Members are adequate and, if they are not, what can be done to improve them.

“The ultimate purpose of the review is to help create a safe and secure environment where international cricket can proceed wherever possible. It will be carried out as soon as possible.”

The Board also agreed that the ICC’s management should approach other sports to see if there was scope for information-sharing in the way security is conducted across major events around the world.

Mr Lorgat said: “Cricket does not exist in isolation and there are many other sports in the world that, because of the current political climate, may be experiencing similar challenges to the ones confronting our game.

“Those challenges are in ensuring the action continues while, at the same time, creating a safe and secure environment for all those who are involved, from players and officials, through to the media and the public.

“As part of Lord Condon’s review we will seek to make contact with a range of sports and see what we can learn and also whether we can share knowledge and experiences with them.”

The Board agreed that it would not be appropriate for international cricket to take place in Pakistan in the immediate future. However, it was agreed that Pakistan should maintain a full programme of matches for its senior and A teams and that Members would do all they could to help facilitate this.

Zimbabwe

The Board received a report on cricket in Zimbabwe from a task team headed by ICC director Dr Julian Hunte, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board.

The report presented a series of recommendations on how best to assist Zimbabwe to improve its performances so as to allow its return to the Test arena as soon as appropriate.

The report stated that a sustainable return to that form of the game was possible when:

• Zimbabwe’s national representative sides have satisfied reasonable performance criteria in first-class and other multi-day matches;

• Various structures and processes have been updated in line with recommendations of the task team;

• Domestic structures have been upgraded and a longer and more competitive first-class league is introduced; and

• There should be an ongoing partnership between Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and the ICC Member Services department to track the former’s performance against its strategic plan.

Zimbabwe Cricket accepted the report’s recommendations and agreed to work with the ICC to ensure they are enacted.

Reflecting on the work of the task team and its recommendations Mr Lorgat, also a task team member, said: “Led by Dr Hunte, we sat down and looked at the current structures and resources of Zimbabwe Cricket, spoke to stakeholders and assessed the current state of the game in the country.

“Our purpose was to create a pathway for a sustainable return for Zimbabwe to Test cricket as soon as practicably possible and we believe that, through this report, we have created the platform for that to happen.

“We are extremely grateful for the cooperation of Zimbabwe Cricket through this process and we look forward to the recommendations of this task team being taken forward as a partnership between the ICC and Zimbabwe Cricket. The ICC Board will continue to monitor the process.”

ZC Chairman Peter Chingoka said: “I’m very grateful to the task team and the ICC for their efforts in this matter. We will now work in partnership with the ICC’s member services department to help enact the task team’s recommendations.

“We believe we have a talented group of youngsters that have the potential to play at the highest level with success and we look forward to ensuring that happens. We are also grateful to the other members of the ICC Board for their pledges of support.”

The task team was set up by the ICC Board at the request of ZC in July 2008 to ascertain details in relation to the state of cricket within Zimbabwe and to make recommendations to the Board.

In addition to Dr Hunte and Mr Lorgat, the task team also included former Sri Lanka Cricket chairman Arjuna Ranatunga. Its report was compiled following a visit to Zimbabwe by Dr Hunte and Mr Lorgat in November last year.

The full task team report is available at the ICC’s website, http://www.icc-cricket.com

Zimbabwe Task Team Final Report - 17 April 2009 (full report in PDF)

ICC Cricket Committee

The Board agreed that former India captain Ravi Shastri will replace Michael Holding as the media representative on the ICC Cricket Committee. Mr Holding resigned last year.

Mr Lorgat said: “I am delighted that we have a person of the experience of Ravi joining us on the cricket committee.

“He was an outstanding player, is a highly-respected broadcaster and is also someone who is hugely respected by many, many people within the game. He will be a great asset to the committee.”

The next meeting of the ICC Cricket Committee, chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, will take place in London on 11 and 12 May. It will include an assessment of the recent trial of the Umpire Decision Review System with a view to making a recommendation to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee on its future employment or otherwise.

Indian Cricket League

The ICL’s application to be approved by the ICC will be discussed on Saturday.

Media notes

Photographs of the meeting are available via Getty Images and video footage is available via SNTV. Further information can also be obtained by getting in touch with your usual Getty Images or SNTV contacts.

Audio is available at the ICC website, http://www.icc-cricket.com

ICC President David Morgan and ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat will take part in a media conference after the conclusion of the meeting, on Saturday.

The meeting is taking place at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi hotel. The hotel, the same venue that was used for the ICC’s annual conference in 2008, is located on Al Sufouh Road, near Dubai Marina, Tel: +971 4 399 4141 . A map offering directions to the hotel can be found at:

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/area/map.html?propertyID=3034

The media conference will take place in the hotel’s convention centre, which is on the right-hand side of the hotel as you face it from the main road.

The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President, as well as, by invitation of the President, the ICC Principal Advisor.

Those attending this meeting were:

Associate Member Representatives

In attendance

ICC Vice-President Sharad Pawar is not in attendance because of the ongoing election campaign in India.