Ex-cricket chief says spot fixing was low point

Outgoing International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon
Lorgat (r) shakes hands with successor David Richardson.

World cricket's outgoing chief Haroon Lorgat Thursday admitted spot-fixing scandals were a low point of his tenure -- but insisted the sport was now in better shape to fight corruption.

Lorgat, who handed over to new International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson in Kuala Lumpur, said the sport's response to its worst betting controversy in years would act as a deterrent to cheats.

"It's a lowlight, but in the manner we responded we demonstrated we will not tolerate any form of corruption and that we're going to pursue it to a logical conclusion," the South African told AFP.

Three Pakistani players were jailed in England over the spot-fixing affair after they were caught arranging no-balls to order during the 2010 Test series against England.

During its annual talks, the ICC also ordered all its members to uphold a lifetime ban slapped on Pakistan's Danish Kaneria by English authorities over a separate scam which left English player Mervyn Westfield in prison.

The reappearance of cheating, which has also been alleged in several other competitions and international series, badly damaged the image of a sport which was left reeling by a series of similar scandals at the turn of the century.

But Lorgat said the prison terms and the reforms made by domestic bodies, including the adoption of new anti-corruption codes, had left cricket better placed to battle corruption.

Mohammad Aamer, the young Pakistani caught and jailed for deliberately bowling no-balls in England, has also appeared in a cautionary video warning players about the consequences of spot-fixing.

"There's a far greater appreciation from (players) to be responsible and to respond to approaches that they might face," Lorgat said.

"I think the positive out of that scandal is that we've dealt with it and strengthened our processes. Part of that is the education process that we've also improved upon."

Lorgat said he considered last year's successful one-day World Cup in South Asia as one of the best achievements of his four-year term.

But he warned not to expect quick progress towards reform of the ICC, which has been strongly criticised over the power exercised by India, it's main revenue-provider.

"I think it would be unfair of any of us to expect overnight change," he said.

ICC approves top-level changes effective 2014

The ICC has formally changed the structure of its top-level administrative hierarchy effective 2014, turning the presidency into a ceremonial position with a one-year term and handing over power to the new post of chairman. The annual conference, which ended on Thursday, "agreed to make the necessary amendments" to the ICC and the ICC Development International (IDI) Articles of Association to effect these changes and also remove the role of the ICC vice-president. 

The changes - the fourth alteration in the president's role since 1996 - take effect when Alan Isaac's current two-year term as the ICC's last rotational president comes to an end during the ICC conference in June 2014. That's when the ICC will also appoint its first chairman. 

These amendments had been agreed to in principle by the ICC's executive board, comprising the heads of the 10 Full Member nations among others, earlier this year. 

The debate over the role of the ICC vice-president to go along with Isaac's tenure has been deferred to the executive board meeting in October. It is understood that the prime candidate for the role - Mustafa Kamal of the Bangladesh Cricket Board - will have to outline his plans for a two-year vice-presidency to be considered for the role. 

Until now, the executive board comprised chairmen or presidents from each of the 10 Full Members, three elected associate member representatives, the ICC president, who chaired the meeting, the ICC chief executive, the ICC vice-president and on invitation of the president, the ICC's principal advisor. 

By the end of the 2014 conference, the ICC and IDI board chairman, a two-year fully paid appointee of the ICC executive board, will chair the board. The newly-redefined ICC president can come into an Executive Board meeting if he so wishes, but neither will he chair the meeting nor will he have a vote. 

This sets the stage for the jockeying to be the chairman, with N Srinivasan of the BCCI and the ECB's Giles Clarke widely reckoned to be the leading contenders. The ICC chairman must not be a serving member of any national board. Srinivasan's three-year term as BCCI president ends in September 2014, and Clarke's term as chairman of the ECB ends in 2015, which means they would have to give up those posts before the June 2014 conference. 

Among other decisions taken at this week's annual conference, Switzerland was removed as an Affiliate member having been suspended last year for failing to comply with the ICC's membership criteria - it has two rival governing bodies of cricket in the country, neither of which is recognised by the Swiss Olympic committee - and being unable to do so by the 2012 Annual Conference. Russia and Hungary were confirmed as new Affiliate members of the ICC. The ICC now has 106 Members. 

The Woolf commiteee recommendations about redefining the associate/ affiliate membership were not discussed or voted upon at the annual conference as those discussions were said to be part of talks between various boards themselves and also at the Executive Board level.

DRS will not be forced on India - Richardson

Dave Richardson: "The introduction of technology has
always been controversial".

Dave Richardson, the ICC's new chief executive, has said that India would not be forced into accepting the universal application of the Decision Review System (DRS). The BCCI has been the sole objector to making DRS mandatory in international cricket and the ICC's Executive Board decided not to put the issue to a vote on Tuesday.

In his first day on the job, as the successor to Haroon Lorgat, Richardson said that while the majority of players and umpires back the DRS to rule on marginal or controversial decisions, India could not be dragged "kicking and screaming" to comply. The ICC's failure to enforce the universal application of DRS means it will only be used in bilateral series when both national boards agree to it. 

"The point is that the BCCI need to make that decision for themselves," Richardson said at the close of the ICC's annual conference in Malaysia. "It's never good to take anyone kicking and screaming to do anything.

"The introduction of technology has always been controversial ... but, slowly but surely, that's changed and I think we're pretty much at that point where everyone is accepting, certainly at international level. 

"I don't think [the Executive Board's decision is] negative at all. We'll be seeing DRS used in the majority of series going forward and there would be no sense in forcing anything upon anybody." 

India's resistance to DRS stems from their 2008 Test series with Sri Lanka, when the technology was on trial. N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, has said that the system would only be supported when it was "100 percent error free".

Richardson said: "The bottom line is, the ICC board determines policy for the ICC going forward. I don't think my job will involve any special negotiations with India. A lot is made of that but there are ten full members and I think our task is a lot more simple and a lot more practical than these high-level talks you might imagine." 

As well as Richardson succeeding Lorgat, Alan Isaac, the former chairman of New Zealand Cricket, has taken over as ICC president for a two-year term, succeeding Sharad Pawar. The ICC has voted to make the presidency a ceremonial position from 2014, with power passed to the new position of chairman.

New Zealander Isaac takes over as ICC chief

Alan Isaac

New Zealander Alan Isaac took over as the eighth president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) today on a two-year term before the post becomes titular.

The former New Zealand Cricket chairman succeeded India's Sharad Pawar at the ICC Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, where former South Africa wicket-keeper David Richardson was confirmed as the new ICC chief executive at the end of compatriot Haroon Lorgat's four-year term.

"I believe that the challenges ahead are no less daunting than those we have faced in the last two years if we are to maintain the vibrancy and viability of the three formats of the sport," Isaac said in a statement.
"I look forward to serving the game with honesty and integrity and to the best of my ability. I look forward to handing on the guardianship of the sport with the game enjoying even greater health," he added.

Isaac takes over at a time when the ICC is perceived as too susceptible to the financial might of the Indian cricket board.

The governing body's failure to mandate the use of the Decision Review System earlier this week is cited as yet another instance of its helplessness against the Indian board, which has been steadfast in its opposition to the technology.

In the annual conference, the ICC agreed to create the post of an ICC Chairman, who would call the shots, remove the role of ICC vice-president and make the president's role "ceremonial in nature with a term of only one year."

The ICC board will select a chairman in 2014 with a two-year term.

BCCI has its way, ICC board retains current DRS arrangement

The ICC said it would continue with the current arrangement
where the two competing countries in a bi-lateral series
decide on the use of the technology.

KUALA LUMPUR: The BCCI again had its way on the contentious Decision Review System (DRS) as the ICC board failed to ratify its universal application following India's strong opposition to the technology.

The ICC said it would continue with the current arrangement where the two competing countries in a bi-lateral series decide on the use of the technology.

ICC's Chief Executives Committee had recommended mandatory use of the DRS in Tests and one-dayers on Monday but it failed to ratify its universal application following India's opposition to the innovation.

"Whilst approving the recommendations of the CEC relating to the inclusion of Hot Spot cameras as part of the minimum specifications for the Decision Review System (DRS) and the amendment of the LBW protocols regarding the "margin of uncertainty", the ICC Board agreed to continue with the present arrangement where the two competing nations in a bi-lateral series decide on the use of DRS," the ICC said in a statement today.

The issue was discussed at the ICC's Executive Board meeting here last, which was chaired by outgoing ICC president Sharad Pawar, but was not put to a vote despite perceived support from most of the full member nations.

The motion for the universal application of the DRS was put to the Executive Board by the CEC on Monday, also through a "unanimous" non-vote, with the BCCI's opposing stance being noted and the matter not being put to vote.

The ICC Board, which had met on June 26 and 27 during the ICC Annual Conference week here, also came out with some other recommendations regarding promotion of cricket, the Danish Kaneria spot-fixing case and regulation changes of the 50-over format, among others.

The meeting was attended by the Board presidents of the 10 Full Member nations and three representatives of Associate and Affiliate nations, besides ICC vice-president Alan Isaac, outgoing Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and ICC's principal advisor IS Bindra and Pawar.

Danish Kaneria: ICC nations agree in principle to ban for corruption

International cricket-playing nations have agreed in principle
to enforce the England and Wales Cricket Board's life ban
for Danish Kaneria for corruption.

The Pakistan spinner was banned by the ECB after encouraging former Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield to spot-fix.
The International Cricket Council's board said domestic bodies "should recognise and respect the sanctions".
Westfield was jailed for four months in February for deliberately bowling badly in a CB40 game against Durham in 2009.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had recommended that Kaneria's ban imposed by the ECB should be implemented worldwide and at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur cricket chiefs agreed in principle on Wednesday.
It said domestic bodies "should recognise and respect the sanctions... including by enforcing and giving effect to them within their own jurisdictions to the fullest extent permitted by law".
During Westfield's trial, Judge Anthony Morris said the scam had been orchestrated by Kaneria, who spent six seasons at Essex from 2004.
But Kaneria, who played 61 Tests and 18 one-day internationals between 2000 and 2010, was never charged by the police on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Both players were charged by the ECB in April for "alleged breaches of the ECB's anti-corruption directives".