ICC ambassador programme under review

Shyam Bhatia,
India Abroad correpondent in London

ICC president Malcolm Gray says the 175,000 pound ambassador programme to popularise cricket throughout the world could still be revived following a review by the ICC's development committee.

The ambassador programme was the brainchild of last year's ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who saw it as a way of popularising the game and transforming it into a "truly global" sport.

After 'Cricket Week' was observed last April in Bangladesh, the ICC appointed 23 cricketing greats and a renowned umpire as, "cricket ambassadors" to spread awareness of the game.

Following the announcement of the programme last year, Dalmiya commented, "The development of the game can be best ensured through active assistance of those who have played it at the highest level and this is why ICC has involved some of the best cricketers in its overall development process."

Yet, one year later, all the "ambassadors" have been recalled and there is little prospect of them being sent out again.

"Suspension is not the right word, it's under review - the whole of the cricket week and that ambassador programme," Gray told India Abroad at the ICC headquarters at Lord's.

"We haven't got any budgeting for it at the moment and it's really just on the back burner."

He added, "It was most successful, but it was tied around cricket week, which was a far bigger event and because as yet we're not definite that we want to continue on with the full round of cricket week, that's been put on the back burner.

"The whole thing could be revived, it's just under review. The development committee is working on whether they go forward with it again."

The 23 former greats appointed ICC cricket ambassadors last year were Gary Sobers, Alan Border, Vivian Richards, Ian Botham, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Richard Hadlee, Ian Chappell, Imran Khan, Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards, Geoffrey Boycott, Martin Crowe, Michael Holding, Asif Iqbal, Tony Greig, Bishen Singh Bedi, Mushtaq Mohammad, Mike Procter, John Reid, Ravi Shastri, Duleep Mendes and David Haughton.

Dickie Bird was the only umpire who was also apppointed as an ambassador.