Two ICC bodies urge council reform

John Mehaffey

Two bodies created by the International Cricket Council (ICC) have combined to urge the world governing body to reform itself immediately.

The first report of the Anti-Corruption Unit, released on Wednesday, said the match-fixing scandal which erupted last year had justifiably undermined confidence in the ability of those running the game.

The unit, headed by former London metropolitan police chief Paul Condon, was set up last year after South Africa captain Hansie Cronje admitted taking money from a bookmaker. Cronje and two other former captains Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Mohammad Azharuddin (India) were subsequently banned for life.

Significantly, each of the 24 recommendations contained in the report have been endorsed by a special committee convened to study the report.

The five-man Code of Conduct Commission inquiry committee, chaired by Lord Hugh Griffiths, examined the report nine days ago and also questioned Condon.

INADEQUATE
"It has become apparent that the present structure of the ICC is inadequate to run international cricket to manage the vast sums of money it now receives from television rights and other sources," the committee concluded.

"It is essential that the ICC, within the next 12 months, be geared to provide the best possible infrastructure for control, finance and, in the cases of matches under its control, corruption.

"There is no point in lamenting that this has not been the case in past years, it is a matter of getting it right now and for the future.

"To this end the recommendations in this report for the future of the ICC must be tackled as a matter of urgency."

Condon's report called for the ICC to become "more open, transparent and accountable".

It said consideration should be given to the publication of an annual report by the president and chief executive.

"The chief executive and executive board of ICC should be held accountable for their performance in combating malpractice," Condon said.

Lord Griffiths's committee said the ICC had to accept that a "proper percentage" of the money coming in from television rights and all other sources had to be put into the prevention of corruption and match-fixing.

It added draconian measures such as banning mobile phones could be difficult to enforce.

"However, there should be written into the players' contracts that players will be prepared to make available to the ICC's Security Unit, printouts of any mobile phones of which they have use," the committee said.

The ICC's executive board will meet at Lord's on June 18 with the 24 recommendations forming the main item on the agenda.

Mail Cricket Editor