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World Cup profits to help cricket's growthThis week the series of meetings that culminate in the annual general meeting on Thursday are taking place in the wake of a World Cup watched, in its latter stages, by the senior administrators not just of the leading Test powers but also the aspiring associate member countries, none more so than the first side to unseat Pakistan, their neighbours, Bangladesh. The World Cup was run on the ICC's behalf by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and it is the home authority which takes the kudos for its successful aspects or the brickbats for its mistakes, but the ICC is now recognised as the owner of the four-yearly tournament and the other competing countries will take the greater share of the final surplus - about £17 million of the expected final profit of around £32 million. The ICC itself, although it has never released figures, is reckoned to have made at least £8 million from the inaugural International Cup tournament in Bangladesh last November. It will be repeated in other countries every two years for the express purpose of producing working income for the ICC's burgeoning running costs and a development programme designed to expand the game's boundaries even further than the 53 countries - nine full members, 25 associates and 19 affiliates - where cricket already has roots. The ICC chief executive is David Richards, the discreet, softly spoken but purposeful 53-year-old Melbournian who moved from being chief executive of the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) six years ago. He has since been seen in public, it seems, about as often as Colonel Gaddafi, but those who know him have a high regard for his administrative ability and a skilful grasp of cricket politics. From his tastefully furnished modern office on the third floor, he can see part of the cricket square out of one window, part of the glistening new MCC indoor cricket centre from another. In between are the almost equally new offices of the ECB, but while the latter's apparently ever-growing administration is constantly being asked to justify its existence, no one asks about the purpose or effectiveness of an ICC staff which has grown from one to 10 since Richards became the first full-time executive in 1993. The ECB building is made of glass and has three full-time public relations officers. The world body hides behind brick and from the guarded young lady who answers the phone to the cautious but capable chief executive himself, the staff all tend to convey a slight impression that theirs is secret work. Richards accepts that it will have to change. "There have been other priorities in trying to make this an effective organisation, but we started from a small base and we've come a long way in a short time, especially under the present president," he said. "We're a genuine world body now, not a mixture of separate countries all pulling for themselves. "I'll admit I did that when I was chief executive of the ACB but the scene has changed. There's been a recognition that we have to see the game in world terms, especially if we are going to expand it. Globalisation has been the real theme of Jagmohan Dalmiya's term as president." Dalmiya will preside over formal and informal meetings this week which will include a preliminary review of the World Cup, not least the idea of a Super Six group that kept the interest going well but came close to producing a "rogue" semi-finalist in Zimbabwe. Richards said yesterday: "I thought the format was a terrific success but it was innovative and we'll have a debrief." Items on the main agenda include a rolling four or five-year Test cycle during which everyone plays everyone else home and away. The possibility of promotion for Bangladesh would complicate matters, especially as the ICC is trying (belatedly) to limit each country to a maximum of 10 or 12 Tests and 25 one-day internationals a year. Already Bangladesh and Kenya have been given official one-day international status and four countries who impressed at the last ICC Trophy (the qualifying tournament for the World Cup) have been earmarked for visits by the A teams of the Test nations. They are Scotland, Ireland, Holland and Denmark. Talks are still going on to resurrect the plan for a cricket stadium at Disney World in Florida and over £1 million has been budgeted for the next year for further development of the game in the five regions of the world which already have an ICC-appointed regional officer: Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and "East Asia Pacific". Dr Ali Bacher continues to chair the development committee and Ross Turner, the Australian who was appointed last year, oversees an expansion programme concerned mainly with the provision of coaching and equipment. With a code of conduct to enforce, umpires and referees to administer it, the World Cup and the ICC Trophy taking place every four years, the International Cup and Under-19 World Cup every two and 53 countries to keep informed, it is hardly surprising, perhaps, that the inhabitants of the Clock Tower have little time for public relations.
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June 21: Warne puts the world in Australia's hands
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