DHAKA: The ICC Board has gained the necessary votes to approve the proposed changes relating to the governance, competition and financial models of the organization, according to a press release issued after its meeting in Singapore.

Sri Lanka Cricket and the PCB were the only two Full Members to abstain from voting at this time.

It was decided at the meeting that BCCI president N Srinivasan would become the ICC chairman from July this year, while CA chairman Wally Edwards would head a newly-formed Executive Committee, which will report to the ICC Board. The ECB chairman Giles Clarke will continue to be the head of the finance and Commercial Affairs Committee.

"These roles will be for an initial two year transitional period to 2016 only," the ICC said. "Once this transitional period is completed, the Chair of the ICC Board will be elected from within the ICC Board with all Full Member Directors entitled to stand for election. BCCI, CA and ECB - will be represented on both sub-committees, along with two representatives of the other Full Members (who will be elected by the Board)."

The financial restructuring, which will give the BCCI, ECB and CA a greater share of ICC revenue, also seemed to be passed because the participation of certain members in ICC events appeared to hinge on it. "Full Members will gain greater financial recognition based on the contribution they have made to the game, particularly in terms of finance, their ICC history and their on-field performances in the three formats," the ICC said. "This decision is the outcome of a negotiation between Members that has been required to provide long-term certainty of participation of all Members in both ICC events and bilateral series against other Members. Without that certainty, the rights for ICC events, which are to be taken to market this year, would have been significantly impacted and, by extension, so would the financial support that has driven the growth of cricket around the world.

"The structure of the model will ensure that none of the Full Members will be worse off than they are at present and - if forecasts of revenue generation prove to be correct - all will be significantly better off. The agreement of the model has been an important part of a wider negotiation that will now provide long-term certainty of participation in ICC events by all of the Full Member teams."

The meeting confirmed the end of the FTP in its current form, with future schedules being dependent on negotiations between boards. "There was also confirmation that all Full Members will enter into a series of contractually binding bi-lateral agreements as a matter of urgency so that they can confirm a comprehensive schedule of matches in a Future Tours Programme that will now be extended to 2023."

The ICC Board also paved a clearer path for Associate nations to gain Test status. "The winner of the next ICC Intercontinental Cup will be entitled to take part in a play-off against the bottom-ranked Full Member and, if successful, obtain Test status," the ICC said. "This complements the pathways that are already in place for any Member to be able to qualify for the major events in ODI and T20I cricket."

The ICC confirmed that the proposed World Test Championship would be scrapped and replaced with the Champions Trophy in 2017 and 2021 to strengthen their commercial property. "It proved impossible to come up with a format for a four-team finals event in Test cricket that fits the culture of Test cricket and preserves the integrity of the format," its release said. "The most recent ICC Champions Trophy event proved to be very popular with supporters around the world and the future events will build on this success.

"With the ICC Champions Trophy alongside the ICC Cricket World Cup and ICC World Twenty20 and the formats and venues already confirmed for all of these events the ICC has a really attractive package for 2015-23 to take to the market."

At the same time, the governing body announced the introduction of a Test Cricket Fund "to help ensure all of the Test playing teams will be able to sustain a home programme of Test cricket through to 2023."

"The fund will be available to all of the Test playing Members except the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)."

ICC president Alan Isaac said: "The Board has made some significant decisions today which provide us with long-term certainty in relation to the future governance, competition and financial models of the ICC. There were eight Full Members who were in a position to support the resolution today and the two [SLC, PCB] who abstained have pledged to further discuss the issues with an aim to reaching unanimous approval over the coming weeks."

Source: Cricinfo
BDST: 1406 HRS, FEB 08, 2014