A SENIOR OFFICIAL OF THE West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) says the region is set to benefit greatly over the next decade from the controversial revamp of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Vice-president Emmanuel Nanthan made the comments after the WICB supported the ICC’s new governance proposals which were approved in Singapore on Saturday.
Nanthan, who represented the regional board at the meeting, said that the proposals would not only ensure that none of the full members would be worse off than they are at present, but that they would be significantly better off.
“West Indies had budgeted deficits of US$20 million and $12 million for the last two years. Over the next eight years we will have surpluses and play more regional and international cricket,” he told Grenada Sports.
“West Indies will play India, Australia and England more than we played them in the last eight years. It’s a saviour for West Indies cricket, not a let-own at all,” he insisted.
Several of the decisions, which hand greater power to India, Australia and England, will have to be considered and adopted by the ICC’s full council.
The revamped plans for the ICC, piloted by those three nations, won the support of eight full members. The cricket boards of Pakistan and Sri Lanka abstained from voting.
South Africa, which had initially objected to the proposals, calling them “fundamentally flawed”, decided to give support.
Among the decisions taken were the replacement of the World Test Championship with an ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and 2021 and greater financial recognition of full members based on their contribution to cricket, particularly in terms of finance, their ICC history and on-field performances in the three formats.
BCCI’s president Narayanaswami Srinivasan is to become the next chairman of the ICC from July, 2014, as the game’s governing body will see a new set of rules related to governance, competition and financial models.
