The International Cricket Council board Saturday approved wide-ranging structural and governance reforms despite complaints that they place too much power in the hands of the “Big Three” of India, England and Australia.

The proposals were passed after gaining the support of eight of the ICC’s 10 full members, with Sri Lanka and Pakistan -- who have both been vocally opposed -- abstaining, a spokesman said.

The package resolution, passed at a meeting in Singapore, includes setting up a five-man executive council with seats reserved for India, England and Australia, the sport’s leading financial powers.

And N. Srinivasan of India, which contributes the lion’s share of cricket’s global revenues, will chair the ICC board from the middle of this year.

ICC President Alan Isaac said: “The Board has made some significant decisions today which provide us with long-term certainty in relation to the future governance, competition and financial models of the ICC.

“This decision comes after extensive discussions between Members that I helped initiate and were given impetus through a position paper presented by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and ECB in early January.

“Since this time a set of resolutions have been drafted, negotiated and modified - based on a set of principles agreed by the ICC Board on 28 January - and finalized at the meeting today. There were eight Full Members who were in a position to support the resolution today and the two who abstained have pledged to further discuss the issues with an aim to reaching unanimous approval over the coming weeks.”

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “We now have clear direction from the Board and it is our job to implement the approved resolution.”

The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three elected Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President.

Sri Lanka Cricket today said that the revised resolution relating to the governance, competition and financial models of ICC were presented at the ICC Board meeting held in Singapore.

“The scope of the Resolutions presently proposed were substantially changed, for which SLC required a fresh mandate from the Executive Committee and Stakeholders,” it said in a statement.

 “As this was intimated to SLC this morning, the SLC representative at the ICC Board meeting abstained from voting as SLC were unable to obtain such mandate today, and would therefore have to go back to the Executive Committee and stakeholders before voting on the Resolutions.”

“In the above context we will seek to obtain a fresh mandate based on the above in order to express SLC’s stance at the next ICC Board meeting scheduled in April,” it said.


- Agencies