Kolkata, April 26 (IANS) In its bid to popularise the game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday gave T20 status to all its 104 members along with plans to introduce global rankings in the format.

The move across both men’s and women’s cricket, is part of the wider strategic aim of using the T20 format to globalise the game.

New minimum standards will be introduced making it as easy as possible for Members to play international cricket in a sustainable and affordable way.

All Member women’s teams will be awarded T20I status from July 1 onwards, whilst all Member men’s teams will be awarded T20I status from January 1, 2019 following the cut-off point for qualification to the ICC World T20 2020.

Rankings for women and men will be introduced in October 2018 and May 2019 respectively.

The ICC Code of Conduct review was also discussed throughout the week, with both the ICC Board and Member Chief Executives united in their commitment to address player behaviour.

There was clear direction from both to move towards stricter and heavier sanctions for ball tampering and other offences which were indicative of a lack of respect, this would include abusive language, send-offs and dissent to an umpire’s decision.

In parallel with that, the creation of a culture of respect that embodies the spirit of cricket on and off the field of play.

ICC Members have signed off a new Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2019-2023 that incorporates the introduction of a World Test Championship and an additional ICC World T20 event in place of the Champions Trophy in 2021.

This provides opportunities for 16 teams to compete at a global level with a sub-regional, regional and global qualification process every two years, giving more regular cricket to more Members.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said: “This set of meetings has seen some significant decisions made for the long term good of the game. Signing off the FTP has been the result of unwavering commitment from all Members to get to this point and we look forward to the commencement of both the new ICC World Test Championship and ODI League in 2019 and 2020 respectively.”

The Board received a presentation around regulations and sanctioning of events including domestic T20 leagues and player release.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of T20 leagues seeking Member and ICC approval and the associated ongoing challenge to ensure the best players are playing international cricket.

It was widely agreed that domestic T20 leagues were good for the global game but steps needed to be taken to ensure international cricket remained attractive to players.

As such, the Board approved the establishment of a small working group to consider the issues and make some recommendations for consideration later in the year.

The Board agreed the process by which the ICC Chairman will be elected for the next two years from June when current Chairman Shashank Manohar’s first two-year term expires.

The Board ratified the appointment of Belinda Clark of Australia as the women’s Committee representative on the Cricket Committee replacing Clare Connor who had served a maximum of three three-year terms.

Whilst David White, CEO of New Zealand Cricket and John Stephenson, MCC both had their terms on the men’s Cricket Committee extended.

Among the other decisions:

ICC Chairman: The Board agreed the process by which the ICC Chairman will be elected for the next two years from June when incumbent Shashank Manohar’s first two-year term expires.

Concussion: New concussion guidelines, which had been developed by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee were adopted by the Board. The protocols are simplified, more cricket specific and in line with the consensus statement on concussion in sport. As part of the revision process which was led by MAC Chair Dr. Peter Harcourt, the ICC received substantial input from medical representatives of Full Members.

Nepal: The Board received an update on the current situation in Nepal and the ongoing suspension of the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). A recent Extraordinary General Meeting of CAN adopted a revised constitution that had been developed by an Advisory Group comprising of stakeholders in cricket in Nepal. The next step towards reinstatement is for CAN to hold elections under the new constitution.

USA: In the US, work continues to create a new governing body for the sport, with thousands of individuals, clubs and leagues signing up to become members of USA Cricket who will now be eligible to vote for the Board of the new organisation in an election to be held in the coming weeks.

A Nominations and Governance Committee has also been named and this group will identify the three independent USA Cricket board members — at least one of who must be a woman — who will sit alongside the elected representatives to drive cricket forward in the US.

Cricket Committee: The Board ratified the appointment of Belinda Clark of Australia as the Women’s Committee representative on the Cricket Committee replacing Clare Connor who had served a maximum of three three-year terms. Whilst David White, CEO of New Zealand Cricket and John Stephenson, MCC both had their terms on the Men’s Cricket Committee extended.

–IANS
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