The ICC Board held the first of its scheduled 2012 meetings in Dubai on 31 January 2012 and 1 February 2012. The major items considered or decisions taken were:
Independent Governance Review
Following adoption of the new ICC Strategic Plan in April 2011 which, inter-alia, identified the need for an independent governance review as one of the key initiatives to 'Build a Bigger, Better Global Game', the ICC Board received from Lord Woolf of Barnes and PricewaterhouseCoopers a 60-page report containing 65 recommendations and a transitional plan.
The report was presented at the meeting and, as was previously decided, the Board agreed to study the report in detail together with ICC Members and other stakeholders before fully considering the report and its recommendations at the next Board meeting in April 2012.
The recommendations are summarized into five main areas:
. Role of the ICC
. The ICC Board
. Ethics
· Membership, Board structure and Committees
· Funding
ICC Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, in thanking the review team for their comprehensive and crucial report, said: 'This has to be the most important exercise that the ICC Board will take responsibility for in seeking to grow the game for future generations.'
Until the report has been discussed by the Board at its next meeting, the ICC is not in a position to make further comment on the subject.
Lord Woolf and PricewaterhouseCoopers Report will be available in the next 24 hours on the ICC website at www.icc-cricket.com.
ICC President from 2014 onwards
Following Board discussions since October 2011 and consistent with recommendations in the Woolf Report, the Board passed a unanimous resolution recommending to the ICC Council an amendment to the ICC Articles of Association so that from 2014 the current Presidency role is split.
The recommendation creates a new system whereby the Presidency would be an Ambassadorial role appointed on a one-year rotational basis, while a Chairman would lead the Board.
The necessary amendments to the Articles of Association will be discussed at the next ICC Board meeting before being submitted for approval by the ICC Annual Conference in June. The Board will also consider the position and role, if any, of the ICC Vice President between 2012 and 2014. Accordingly, the nomination received of Mustafa Kamal, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, for the ICC Vice-Presidency from 2012-14 will be considered as a part of this process.
Furthermore, Egon Zehnder, the International executive recruitment firm, have been appointed to conduct the search for the ICC Chief Executive who will replace Haroon Lorgat when he vacates the position at the end of the Annual Conference in June 2012.
Promotion of Test Cricket
A total of US $3.8m in prize money will be shared among the top four sides on 1 April 2013, 2014 and 2015, after the ICC Board approved a proposal to substantially increase incentives in the form of prize money to promote Test match cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event in 2017.
Haroon Lorgat said: 'This worthy increase in prize money for the top four teams in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings can only be right. We are delighted at the growing interest and quality of Test match cricket and we must continue to promote the pinnacle form of the game before and beyond the Test Championship in 2017.'
Previously, the top team in the Reliance ICC Test rankings received a cheque for $175,000 but in future will receive a minimum of $450,000 rising to $500,000 in 2015. From 2016 there will be further increases in Test prize money.
| Rankings | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| 1st | 450 | 475 | 500 |
| 2nd | 350 | 370 | 390 |
| 3rd | 250 | 265 | 280 |
| 4th | 150 | 160 | 170 |
(*in USD '000s)
Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme ("TAPP")
The ICC Board approved an initial $12m Targeted Assistance and Performance Programme ('TAPP') which is aimed at developing more competitive teams among Full Members and Associate/Affiliate Members. This decision sets in practice an initiative identified in the ICC Strategic Plan, the 'Targeted Performance Fund', and is also in line with a recommendation contained in the Woolf Report.
Amongst the necessary criteria, Member applicants will need to present a proper strategy and business plan aimed specifically at improving on-field performance (Performance Improvement Plan ('PIP'). The financial support:
· Could be in the form of grants and/or "soft loans" or non-financial (expertise, scheduling etc);
· Could be for activities aimed not only at directly improving performance (e.g. training camps, contracting of coaching staff, etc.) but also those aimed at related areas that would benefit and sustain on-field performance such as administration, commercial, legal or other relevant support;
· Must be subject to the Member contributing matching resources to implement the PIP
Haroon Lorgat said: 'I am pleased that the Board is focused on supporting Members to grow and improve their performances. This programme is a first step in the right direction and is intended for the lower performing Full Members and the higher performing Associates/Affiliates.'
Independent review of the ACSU by Bertrand de Speville
The ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit Chairman, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, presented the independent report received from Bertrand de Speville, formerly Solicitor General of Hong Kong, Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong and adviser to the Council of Europe Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption.
The report contains a total of 27 recommendations. In receiving the recommendations, the Board concurred with the preliminary views of Sir Ronnie that seven of the recommendations (e.g. unexplained wealth, minimum periods of ineligibility, etc.) were either unworkable or unsuitable for cricket. Of the remaining 20, thirteen recommendations have been accepted while seven are consistent with current ACSU policy or practice.
The Board will consider the report in further detail in due course.
The De Speville Report and the ICC preliminary responses can be found at www.icc-cricket.com
Guyana and the West Indies Cricket Board
The ICC Board reiterates the principle of non-interference in the sport by Governments and were concerned to learn of the developments in Guyana where the Government has dissolved the Guyana Cricket Board and replaced it with an Interim Management Committee. In condemning this government intervention in the strongest possible terms, the ICC Board reaffirmed the principle of non-interference and that the only legitimate cricketing authority is that recognized by the West Indies Cricket Board.
ICC Safety and Security Code
Following the Lahore Attack in March 2009, the ICC Executive Board had established a Security Task Force to review the existing safety and security arrangements for international cricket and to make such recommendations to the ICC Board as it considered appropriate to help create a safe and secure environment for international cricket.
The ICC Board agreed that the ICC and its Members should adopt a Safety and Security Code as guidance for best practice.
The ICC Executive Board also received formal presentations from Interpol and on the ICC Global Cricket Academy, which is universally recognized as a world class facility. The ICC GCA has already been used by seven Full Members, including both Pakistan and England in their current Test series, and 17 Associate and Affiliate Members.
