Manohar-led ICC all set to scrap constitutional amendments made by Srinivasan that gave enormous clout to India, Australia and England boards
This was expected when Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar took over as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) – to undo what the previous chairman and rival N Srinivasan had done in his capacity two years ago for better transparency among all member countries.
The rest of the cricketing world was unhappy with the setting up of 'Big Three' – Indian, Australian and English cricket boards – by Srinivasan in 2014 to give them enormous powers with bulk of the revenue share going their way.
Manohar did not believe in the three major countries "bullying the ICC". At the ICC board's first meeting of this year in Dubai on Thursday, the world governing body is all set to scrap the controversial constitutional amendments that gave executive clout and financial power to the BCCI, Cricket Australia (CA) and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
Manohar said the recommendations were aimed at making ICC operations more transparent.
"No member of the ICC is bigger than the other and I am determined to make a meaningful contribution in this regard with support of all the members. The decisions taken clearly reflect that we collectively want to improve the governance in a transparent manner, not only of the ICC but also the member boards," the BCCI president said.
The board also agreed to propose to the full council that a new chairman should be elected by the board for a two-year term commencing at the June 2016 board meeting through a secret balloting process overseen by the ICC's independent Audit Committee Chairman.
"While in the office, the ICC chairman will not be allowed to hold any post with any member board and may be re-elected at the expiry of the term with a maximum limit of three terms. To qualify to contest the election, it has been agreed that all nominees must be either a past or present ICC board director and should have the support of at least two full member directors," an ICC release said.
The permanent positions of "Big Three" in the executive and finance committees are also removed.
"In addition, the board agreed to approve changes to the terms of reference of the Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee and Executive Committee so as to remove the permanent positions for the nominees of the BCCI, CA and ECB on these committees, and to allow fair access to membership for all full and associate member directors, with the sole criteria being the skill, competence and experience of the relevant director. To that end, the present composition of the committees will be reviewed in their entirety in June 2016," an ICC release stated.
"Moreover, the board has also agreed to carry out a complete review of the 2014 resolutions and constitutional changes with a view to establishing governance, finance, corporate and cricketing structures that are appropriate and effective for the strategic role and function of the ICC and all of its members.
"As part of this wide-ranging exercise, the ICC board has directed that the ICC's constitution be reviewed in its entirety and all members have been encouraged to provide feedback on this issue to ICC management during the next few weeks."
Manohar has constituted a five-member steering group, which, under his leadership, also includes the respective Chairmen of the ICC's Governance Review Committee, Executive Committee, Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee and Associate/Affiliate Member group, and will be supported by various members of ICC management.
IN A NUTSHELL
- Review of the ICC's constitution and governance structures to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and to follow best practice principles of good governance
- Propose to the full council that a new chairman be elected by the board for a two-year term through secret balloting
- ICC chairman will not be allowed to hold any post with any member board
- Approve changes to the terms of reference of the finance & commercial affairs committee and executive committee so as to remove the permanent positions for the nominees of the BCCI, CA and ECB
- Complete review of the 2014 resolutions and constitutional changes
- Future structure and scheduling of international cricket including the impact of Twenty20 leagues on the international game discussed
- Report received on the status of on-going dialogue about the benefits and drawbacks of cricket's future participation in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. Further work required before a final position could be adopted
- Appointment of an Anti-Corruption Oversight Group that also includes former India captain Rahul Dravid. The group will meet once a year to review and provide independent input into the strategy adopted by the sport to tackle corruption and its implementation
- Sri Lanka Cricket's membership of the ICC has been reinstated in full
- For future ICC U19 World Cups, the 10 Test-playing countries and the highest-placed Associate team from the ICC U19 CWC 2016 will qualify directly for the 2018 edition. The remaining five sides will qualify through the regional qualifying tournaments
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