FOREWORD // CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
05
CONTEXT & CLARITY
ICC Chairman, Shashank Manohar, pays tribute to David Richardson and welcomes his successor as CEO, Manu Sawhney
We are entering an exciting new phase for the game, building on some of the key decisions taken over the past 12 months.
In August, the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) begins with one of international cricket’s most celebrated rivalries, the Ashes. The WTC is a significant element in our drive to bring greater context to international cricket as is the expansion of the MRF Tyres Men’s T20I Team Rankings which launched in January with a table of 80 teams including the likes of Australia, Botswana, Luxembourg and Mozambique. This follows the introduction of women’s global rankings last year.
Delivering greater context and helping to grow the game are both important strands of the legacy of David Richardson, who left ICC after seven years as CEO and 17 in total with the organisation.
On behalf of the ICC Board, I would like to thank David for his service and commitment to cricket over that time. Among his achievements are the increased commercial success of the sport, his leadership of the ICC team and establishing greater context for international cricket.
David will be missed by everyone in the game, but this is an opportunity for the ICC to drive forward into a new period of transformative global growth under new leadership.
Manu Sawhney brings 22 years of outstanding commercial experience to the ICC. Our search produced a host of excellent candidates from around the world, but Manu was the unanimous choice of the Nominations Committee as the person to work with our Members and take cricket forward. He has proven success in a number of leadership roles in both sport and broadcasting. He is a strategic thinker and understands the cricket landscape and its complexities.
Manu took up his role in April although David remained in post until July to ensure a smooth transition and to oversee the delivery of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in England and Wales, which proved to be even more exciting and vibrant than we had hoped. The diversity of the UK population ensured that every team had magnificent support wherever they played. My thanks go to Steve Elworthy and his team for delivering such an outstanding event.
The qualification pathway for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup has been simplified, bringing greater clarity to the process as well as better defined playing windows for Members.
The men’s 50-over tournament followed on from an excellent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in November, which produced unprecedented attendances across three venues and reached more than 200 territories thanks to the broadcast coverage of Star.
I am delighted that women’s cricket will be part of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham 2022 following a successful bid by the ICC, in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board. We believe this partnership is a perfect way to inspire more young girls to take up the sport regardless of their background or culture.
Over the past 12 months,wehave made significant progress in anti-corruption and player behaviour.
At our 75th Annual Conference in Dublin, we agreed on a number of changes to the ICC Code of Conduct including the introduction of new offences and the change in level of some existing ones. There are now increased sanctions for ball-tampering and personal abuse.
Alex Marshall and the Anti-Corruption Unit have done excellent work over the past 12 months, particularly in Sri Lanka where a number of charges have been brought and where the innovative amnesty brought further vital information.
With regard to governance, we have mapped out a way forward to enable Zimbabwe Cricket to get back on track. It will require significant change to their financial, managerial and cricketing operations, along with support from the ICC, but we saw the latent potential of cricket at the recent ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe and this gives us the opportunity to build on that.
Finally, it is hugely exciting to welcome USA as the ICC’s 105th Member, which was announced in January. I hope USA Cricket can not only unify and develop the cricket community in the United States but also become an integral part of our ambition to grow the game globally.
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