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Thursday, February 02, 2012

An Independent Review of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Arrangements: Bertrand de Speville



The threat of corruption in sport, and in particular cricket, has been highlighted by a number of scandals over the last thirty years. This has prompted the International Cricket Council to take vigorous action against the dangers of corruption. That action has principally been guided by the recommendations made in a ground breaking 2001 report by Sir Paul Condon (as he then was) which set up the codes of conduct and procedures that followed.

In the aftermath of the 'spot-fixing' matter involving 3 Pakistan players, against whom disciplinary and criminal proceedings have now been concluded, the ICC Board commissioned 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) to carry out an independent review of the anti-corruption capability of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and to recommend whether any further steps should be taken by the ICC to safeguard the integrity of the game. This review comes 10 years after the Condon Report and builds upon the foundations laid then.

The ICC wishes to place on record its appreciation to Mr de Speville for the work that he has carried out in preparing his report.

Watch ICC ACSU chairman Sir Ronnie Flanagan speak on the positives of the Bertrand de Speville report

Click here for Bertrand de Speville Report - 27 Recommendations and ICC's Preliminary Response

Click here for Bertrand de Speville Report - A Review of the Anti-Corruption Arrangements of the ICC

Results of the ICC Board meeting in Dubai



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.


Rankings201320142015
1st450475500
2nd350370390
3rd250265280
4th150160170

(*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.

Pakistan vs England third Test squads



DUBAI: Rival squads and match officials for the third and final Test between Pakistan and England starting at Dubai Stadium on Friday:

Pakistan (from): Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman

England (from): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Steve Davies, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara

Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Steve Davis (AUS)
TV umpire: Shahvir Tarapore (IND)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (IND)

England desperate to avoid Pakistan whitewash



DUBAI: Spin-weary England will be desperate to avoid the humiliation of a series whitewash against Pakistan in the third and final Test which starts at Dubai Stadium on Friday.

Andrew Strauss's men, pulverised by Pakistan spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Rehman, are also in danger of losing their world number one spot after a dismal 10-wicket defeat in Dubai and the 72-run capitulation in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan have never inflicted a Test series whitewash on England, who topped the Test rankings in August last year with an unbeaten nine series sequence, but have seen 34 of their 40 wickets tumble on tour to Pakistan's spinners.

Off-spinner Ajmal has led the destruction with 17 scalps while left-armer Rehman has claimed 12 wickets and Mohammad Hafeez five.

England need to win to guarantee their top spot on April 1 -- the cut-off date for a $175,000 award to the side sitting at the top of the ICC Test championship table.

But their celebrated batting order has so far failed to answer the challenge laid down by Pakistan's wily spinners.

Jonathan Trott (141 in four innings) tops their batting chart, while Andrew Strauss (68) and Alastair Cook (109) have failed to provide strong starts.

Key batsmen Kevin Pietersen (17 in four innings), Ian Bell (36) and Eoin Morgan (41) have also struggled to cope with the slower ball as England lost the first Test in three days and the second in four.

The tourists will resist the temptation of replacing Morgan with Ravi Bopara whose last Test innings was a 44 not out, against India at The Oval.

Speaking after the Abu Dhabi defeat Strauss said his chastened team needed to bounce back after two dismal performances.

"Pakistan have thoroughly deserved their victory in the series," he said.

We've been below where we want to be and we need to come back and bounce back strongly from this.

"As a batting unit we have to hold our hands up and say we haven't been good enough, it's been pretty apparent, we need to be better than that," said Strauss, whose last hundred came 30 months ago.

The defeats have left no doubt about England's vulnerability to the slow ball on subcontinental wickets, a weakness they will need to address before tours to Sri Lanka and India later in the year.

"If you take the point of view, which I think you've got to, that you learn as much from your defeats as you do from your victories then I think we've learned some valuable lessons going forward," Strauss said.

"It's not easy in these conditions, in these circumstances but we're good enough players to be able to adjust to the conditions we've encountered."

Under Strauss' stewardship England have won only twice on the subcontinent -- both times against minnows Bangladesh.

Pakistan are chasing the whitewash as they look to climb the Test rankings and captain Misbah-ul Haq has vowed his team will be going for the jugular in Dubai.

"We will try our level best to do the same we did in the first two Tests, we have the best team up against us so they can come back in the series, but what is in our control we will do," said Misbah, who has not lost a series since taking over in October 2010.

"We need to to do our hundred percent and be focused for good cricket."

The Dubai Stadium pitch, which provided help to spinners from the first day of the opening Test, is likely to continue its assistance to slow bowlers.

Pakistan may consider replacing left-arm seamer Junaid Khan with Wahab Riaz, who has been part of the squad without taking the field.

Test squads:

Pakistan (from): Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman

England (from): Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Graham Onions, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Steve Davies, Monty Panesar, Ravi Bopara

Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS) and Steve Davis (AUS)
TV umpire: Shahvir Tarapore (IND)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (IND)

Australia beat India in first T20



SYDNEY: Australia defeated India by 31 runs in the first of two Twenty20 internationals at the Sydney Olympic stadium on Wednesday.

Australia scored 171 for four and restricted India to 140 for six.

Man-of-the-match Matthew Wade top scored with 72 off 43 balls in Australia's innings and India did not recover after falling to 81 for six in the 14th over.

India captain M.S. Dhoni top scored for his side with an unbeaten 48 while Dan Christian and David Hussey took two wickets each.

The second match in the series takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

Amir released from prison



LONDON: Convicted fast bowler Muhammad Amir has been released from the young offenders institute in Weymouth, two days before on completion of half of the jail term he was awarded by the Southwark Crown Court here.

Amir was serving a six-month sentence for spot-fixing after the 19-year-old.

Amir was found guilty in the scandal that shook the cricketing world in May 2010. Amir, Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif had taken bribes from bookie Mazhar Majeed.

Undercover reporter Mazhar Majeed from now defunct British publication News Of The World secretly videotaped Majeed during transaction that played a key role in securing the conviction. Amir was the first and the only of the three players who changed his defence to a guilty plea and was sentenced for only 6 months.

Amir’s legal team had initially confirmed that he will be released on February 9 and that he will complete part of his remaining sentence on licence at a London address.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that Muhammad Amir was released this morning. "Amir was released today in the morning," said a spokesperson speaking to The News, without giving any further details.

It is believed that Amir will stay in London for about 2-3 weeks and then he will leave for Pakistan. He has visa to stay in the UK till the end of March.

A source confirmed that a probation officer from the Prison Services accompanied Amir to the guarantee address where he will be staying to ensure that being a young offender he has all the requirements at the address.