More funds for Asian cricket

The International Cricket Council plans a big increase in allocation of funds for Asia to promote the game in the cricket-crazy continent, an ICC official said Monday.

"Asia has a lot of thrust for the game and people follow it madly. ICC has proposed big funds for the continent which can change the face of the game in this part," Ehsan Mani said at the end of ICC's finance committee meeting.

Asia would get a lot from the money ICC would earn from the World Cup 2003 rights, Mani who chaired the two-day meeting in Lahore said.

ICC president Malcolm Gray also attended the meeting which reviewed next year's budget and internal working of the ICC.

Mani, a Pakistan native, said most of the money would be spent in non-Test playing countries such as Nepal, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

"We want to make ICC a highly professional body," he said.

"With the induction of a code of conduct commission and anti-corruption unit we need more money to solve various problems."

An ICC anti-corruption unit was set up at its emergency meeting in May after allegations of match-fixing and betting rocked the game.

He said the budget would be reviewed at Melbourne in February before presenting it to the counil meeting for approval in June in London.

The ICC will earn 550 million dollars from television rights to the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

Mani said the proposed budget set aside 6.5 million dollars for the development and globalisation of cricket.

"Asia will get half of the development funds," he said.

The committee also discussed shifting the ICC headquarters from London.

"We face problems of taxes in the UK so we have shortlisted venues in our last meeting held in Singapore last week," he said.

Lusan, Switzerland, Monte Carlo in Monaco, Singapore and Holland are likely choices besides reviewing the existing venue of London, Mani said.

Mail Cricket Editor