ICC confirms World Cup slashed to 10 teams

Updated at: 0927 PST,  Tuesday, April 05, 2011

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council has confirmed a controversial decision to slash the 2015 and 2019 World Cups to just 10 teams, despite widespread objections.The world governing body endorsed the move at an executive board meeting in Mumbai."The executive board confirmed their decision made in October 2010 that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in 2019 will be a 10-team event," a media release said.The move comes despite support from prominent figures for "minnow" nations such as Ireland, Kenya, Canada and the Netherlands, all of whom took part in the 2011 edition.Ireland pulled off one of the shocks of the just-concluded tournament jointly hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka when they came from behind to beat England by three wickets in a thrilling group stage clash."I really enjoy seeing the minnow teams getting an opportunity to be honest," Australia captain Michael Clarke said on Monday, echoing earlier comments by England spinner Graeme Swann."Why would you want to take the world out of the World Cup? Shocks can happen," Swann told Wisden Cricket magazine.Cricket Ireland set up a Facebook campaign against the decision, which the body's chief executive Warren Deutrom called "frankly outrageous"I cannot think of a decision which is less cognisant of the principles of sport and fair play than the one that has been taken today," he said, in comments posted on the Irish Times website."It absolutely flies in the face of all the evidence that has been possible to accrue over the last four years as regards Ireland's performances, not just in the World Cup in 2007 but also in this World Cup and the intervening four years.The decision means the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand will be contested by full ICC members: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe.The 2019 edition in England will also include 10 teams, but there will be a qualifying process.The latest World Cup had been criticised for its length, after it stretched over six weeks from February 19 to April 2.

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Dilshan, Tendulkar and Gambhir all rise

Mendis, Habhajan and Malinga improve rankings; ICC Cricket World Cup champions India close gap on Australia ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 runner-up Sri Lanka’s Tillekeratne Dilshan has risen to his career best ranking to date in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsman. The 34-year-old all-rounder is occupying third position on the rankings after scoring the most runs in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – a total of 500. ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 winners Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir have also moved up the rankings, with India’s opener rising one place to ninth while Gambhir's hard-fought 97 runs against Sri Lanka in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup yesterday has seen the 29-year-old rise four places to occupy 10th. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara still occupies fourth place while India's Yuvraj Singh, the ICC Player of the Tournament for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 remains in joint 17th place with Australia captain Ricky Ponting, the latter having risen six places. Meanwhile, Netherlands Ryan ten Doeschate continues to be the only Associate player in the top 20 of the batting rankings with the Dutchman sitting in 16th place. Other batsmen moving in the right direction include England's Jonathan Trott in fifth (up by four places), South Africa's Jacques Kallis in 12th (up by three places), Ross Taylor in 19th (up by one place), Upul Tharanga in 26 (up three places), Mahela Jayawardena in 28th (up by three places), India's Suresh Raina in 31st place (up by four places), Misbah-ul-Haq in 36th place (up by three places) and Jesse Ryder in 42nd (up by 13 places)South Africa's duo of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers continue to occupy the top two positions.In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers, Sri Lanka's Anjantha Mendis is one of the big movers with the spin bowler rising nine places to take eighth place, a position he last occupied in 2009.Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has climbed five places to now sit in ninth, which India's World Cup winning spinner Harbhajan Singh has risen two places to now sit 18th on the list. Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal has rocketed up nine places to now occupy 20th place, while just outside the top 20 Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga has risen three places and is now sitting in joint 25th position with South Africa's Johan Botha. Pakistan's Mohammed Hafeez has gained 25 places to now sit in 36th position, while Yuvraj has climbed 13 places to sit 40th and his team mate Ashish Nehra occupies 48th after a rise of 10 place. Sri Lanka's Nuwan Kulasekara has slipped five places to now sit 10th while Australia's Mitchell Johnson has also dropped down the rankings to now sit 13th alongside England's Stuart Broad. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori leads Zimbabwe's Ray Price by 23 ratings points with England's Graeme Swann in third and South Africa's Dale Steyn in fourth. The only change in the top five of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI all-rounders is the drop of South Africa's Jacques Kallis to fifth and the ascension of Yuvraj to fourth place. Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan leads the field with Shane Watson of Australia in second, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi in third.ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 champions India have closed the gap between itself and current Reliance ICC ODI Championship table-toppers Australia at the conclusion of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. India are now just seven points behind Australia, albeit Australia have the chance to increase its lead of over the 2011 champions as it has a three-match series against Bangladesh starting next week.ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 runners-up Sri Lanka has remained in third place but with an increase in ratings points of two, taking Kumar Sangakkara's side to 118 points, while South Africa sits in fourth.

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ICC Executive Board meets in Mumbai

The ICC Executive Board met at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai on 4 April 2011, which meeting followed the Chief Executives? Committee (CEC) meeting on 1 April 2011. Among the important decisions were:

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

The ICC Executive Board congratulated India on their success in the ICC Cricket World Cup and thanked the hosts and the ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and his staff for their tireless and impressive work to ensure the success of the tournament. President Sharad Pawar said: ?This ICC Cricket World Cup has been very successful and memorable. Whatever we achieved was due to the full support of the governments of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India and in particular I would place on record our gratitude to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rakapakse who are ardent followers of our Great Sport.'It is also my duty as ICC President and Chairman of the Central Organising Committee to place on record the great work done by the organizing committees of the three host countries led by their Boards and their chairmen Mustafa Kamal, DS de Silva and Shashank Manohar who worked to stage the flagship event of the ICC. I would like to congratulate all the participating teams, officials, match referees and umpires, tournament directors, members of the organizing committees, state associations and ICC staff who worked night and day to ensure that the event was the most successful in history.'The tournament reinforced the attraction of 50 over cricket and showed the enthusiasm and excitement generated by nation v nation cricket. There is no doubt that this event has been a great advertisement for ODI cricket. I would like to congratulate both the Indian team and the Sri Lankan team for a befitting final match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai which was played in the best of spirits and provided great entertainment to millions following the game the world over,' he concluded.During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 there were many important achievements such as:  Improved infrastructure at various stadia, some of which now rival some of the best facilities in the world Response and support of the cricket-loving public even in the matches where the host countries were not playing which has meant the ICC target of 75% attendance has been exceeded.Viewership and TRP ratings including the coverage in the electronic and print media were enormous with the matches between India and England, Australia, Pakistan and undoubtedly Sri Lanka successively becoming the most watched cricket games in history. The viewing figures are being calculated in hundreds of millions Support of all the global and local sponsors who themselves have gained great exposure from their association with the event Financially the tournament has been an outstanding success ICC leadership led by Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and his team who have worked very hard to make this event a success which has contributed to the improved image of the gameThe quality of cricket was exceptional.The ICC Executive Board has agreed to donate $1m from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 to New Zealand Cricket to allow them to re-establish their offices after their original premises were destroyed in the 22 February 2011 earthquake Meanwhile the ICC Executive Board agreed to a review of the process of the sale, allocation and distribution of tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, particularly tickets which found their way on the black market

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

The Executive Board confirmed their decision made in October 2010 that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 in Australia and New Zealand and the ICC Cricket World Cup in England in 2019 will be a 10-team event. The Board agreed that the 2015 World Cup will comprise the existing 10 Full Members, however, they gave notice to all Full Members that participation in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup will be determined on the basis of qualification. It was also agreed that post the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 there will be promotion and relegation introduced in the ODI League The Board had also decided in October 2010 that the ICC World Twenty20 will comprise 16 teams. This would allow six Associates or Affiliates the opportunity to participate in an ICC Global event every two years

Governance

The ICC Executive Board will propose certain changes to the ICC Constitution at its Annual Conference 2011 in Hong Kong, applicable from July 2012, designed to prevent undue interference by Governments in the administration of cricket in Member countries, including but not limited to interference in operational matters, the selection and management of teams, the appointment of coaches or support personnel or the activities of a Member.

Strategic plan

The ICC Strategic Plan 2011-15 has been approved by the Board. The plan seeks to lead world cricket by providing a world class environment for international cricket; delivering major events across all three formats (Test, 50 over and T20); providing targeted support to members and promoting the global game.Haroon Lorgat said: 'The strategy is the product of wide ranging and constructive engagement held with the world's leading cricket administrators and stakeholders. The plan covers a range of strategic topics from the role of the ICC, governance, promotion and protection of the three forms of the game, competition and meritocratic pathways as well as targeted investment'The targeted funding for Members will be used to protect the game and its integrity; provide a platform for success and also focus on growth and improvement of playing standards.

ACSU review

An internationally renowned company has been appointed to review the operations of the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) as part of the learnings following the Pakistan spot-fixing allegations, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the ACSU chairman, reported that the initial recommendations following this review will be presented to the Board in June.

Cricket Committee

Steve Davis has been appointed, following a recommendation from the ICC Chief Executives' Committee, as the Umpires Representative on the ICC Cricket Committee. He replaces Simon Taufel who has decided to focus more on his umpiring duties. Steve Davis has been an international umpire since 1992 and has stood in more than 104 ODIs, including the ICC Cricket World Cup semi final in Colombo between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, as well as 34 Test matches and 14 Twenty20 internationals.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.

Sharad Pawar - ICC President
Alan Isaac - ICC Vice-President
Haroon Lorgat - ICC Chief Executive
Subhan Ahmed - Pakistan (alternate for Ijaz Butt)
Peter Chingoka - Zimbabwe
Giles Clarke - England and Wales
Jack Clarke - Australia
Dr Julian Hunte - West Indies
Mustafa Kamal - Bangladesh
Imran Khwaja - Associate Member Representative
Chris Moller - New Zealand
Keith Oliver - Associate Member Representative
Mustafa Kamal - Bangladesh
Shashank Manohar - India
Abdul Kader Khan - South Africa
DS de Silva - Sri Lanka
Neil Speight - Associate Member Representative
Apologies
Ijaz Butt - Pakistan

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WC trophy given to India was fake

Updated at: 1452 PST,  Monday, April 04, 2011

MUMBAI: Indian media revealed that the World Cup trophy handed over to Indian cricket team was not original and it was a fake trophy.This was reported that president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Sharad Powar had given away the trophy to Indian team captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni in a ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai after they won the World Cup.However, that trophy was a fake one as it had no ICC logo nor the name of the winners on it.The Indian media further said that the original trophy is in the custody of the Mumbai customs who levied a tax of Rs2.2 million on it.But the ICC in a bid to avoid any tax gave away the fake trophy to the Indian team after winning the final.Tournament director Sauro Naik said that the original trophy of the World Cup would be sent back to Dubai today.

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Tendulkar has no retirement plans

Updated at: 1824 PST,  Monday, April 04, 2011

NEW DELHI: Indian batting superstar Sachin Tendulkar said Monday he had no plans to retire after his World Cup triumph, but said the team would miss outgoing coach Gary Kirsten.India regained the World Cup after 28 years with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the final in Mumbai on Saturday under former South African batsman Kirsten."Personally, I would say Gary (Kirsten) should continue but he has family commitments," Tendulkar told a local TV channel."I respect his decision. We will miss him a lot. It's been a pleasure to work with him. He's probably worked harder than anyone else.India not only secured the number-one ranking in Tests and number two in one-day internationals under Kirsten, but also became a formidable force both at home and away.Tendulkar, the world's leading run scorer in both Tests (14,692) and one-day internationals (18,111), became a World Cup winner for the first time on his sixth and probably last appearance in the tournament.He said winning the World Cup was his biggest cricketing moment and wished he could have shared it with his father."I miss my father. He would be proud. My kids being there for the victory lap made it even more special," said Tendulkar, whose father died during the 1999 World Cup, adding that he had no plans to retire."I can't believe we're the world champions. I am enjoying cricket too much to retire from any form of the game," said Tendulkar, who will turn 38 this month The master batsman rated Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the "best captain" for leading the team shrewdly in the high-pressure tournament."He (Dhoni) reads the situation well, is open to ideas and above all he stays calm and doesn't show frustration," Tendulkar said.It was the second major title India had won under Dhoni after the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa in 2007.Tendulkar said India had peaked at the right time."In the knockout stage, we peaked at the right time. We batted, fielded and bowled well. You see effort from all players. Performance no one can guarantee, but effort you can guarantee," said Tendulkar.India beat defending champions Australia in the quarter-finals and Pakistan in the semi-final before prevailing over Sri Lanka.

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Clarke supports retention of World minnows

Updated at: 1755 PST,  Monday, April 04, 2011

 SYDNEY: Australian captain Michael Clarke was at odds Monday with his predecessor Ricky Ponting over the International Cricket Council's moves to cut the number of teams at the 2015 World Cup.In an early sign of a divergence in captaincy styles with Ponting, Clarke spoke out in support of minnow nations, who would likely be axed if the tournament's size was reduced."I really enjoy seeing the minnow teams getting an opportunity to be honest, I guess it's up to the ICC to work out whatever they think is in the betterment of the game, obviously that's their priority," Clarke told reporters before the Australian team's departure for a short tour to Bangladesh.An ICC decision on the issue was expected to be made in Mumbai on Monday following a meeting of its executive board.Ponting called for fewer teams during this year's World Cup ahead of the ICC's decision on culling the number of countries from 14 to 10 for the next edition in Australia and New Zealand in four years time.Ponting, who stepped down as Australian captain last week, said in February that a balance had to be struck between encouraging the growth of the game and improving the quality of the World Cup competition.The World Cup format again has been criticised as tediously drawn out during the group stages, meaning it took six weeks to complete the 2011 event in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.Clarke agreed that the structure could be improved, but said that shouldn't necessarily be at the expense of the developing countries, with Ireland most notably adding excitement to the recent World Cup, won by India on Saturday."The two World Cups I've been involved in have been fantastic," he said."It certainly does feel between games like you have a long period when you've got six or seven days between games, but I've enjoyed seeing all the minnow teams play."We've seen throughout this World Cup there was a few upsets where there was some great cricket played," he added.Ireland scored one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history when they toppled England with a superb run-chase last month, while the Irish also made the Super eight stage in 2007 when they beat Pakistan.The ICC presently has 10 full-member nations, meaning if the Cup was cut to 10 teams, the minnow countries such as Kenya, the Netherlands and Canada would struggle to qualify.

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Afridi ready to tour West Indies

Updated at: 1342 PST, Monday, April 04, 2011

KARACHI: Pakistan's limited overs cricket captain Shahid Afridi has made himself available for the tour of West Indies after previously opting for a break"Earlier I had decided to skip the tour because I wanted to take a well deserved rest from the game, but some former players and my family and friends told me to change my decision at this crucial time for Pakistan cricket," Afridi said on Monday.Afridi, 31, who has played 320 one-day internationals, led Pakistan to the semi-finals of the recent World Cup where they lost to eventual winners India.The seasoned all-rounder, who finished with 21 wickets in the tournament, said he wanted a break from cricket but the upcoming tour was an ideal opportunity to groom two or three new players."That is why I want to be part of the team on the coming tour and carry on the momentum we got from the World Cup," he said.Afridi revealed the morale of the players was boosted by the warm welcome they received on returning from the World Cup hosted in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh."It is an indication that Pakistan cricket is on the right track and on the coming tours to West Indies and Zimbabwe we can form an ideal one-day combination," he added.The Pakistan team will play a Twenty20 match against West Indies on April 21, then five ODIs and two tests.Indications from the national selectors suggest they plan to rest some of the senior players for the limited over matches in the Caribbean and try out new players who have performed well in domestic cricket. (Reuters)

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