In 1907, three nations that were playing cricket on the International level were England, Australia and South Africa. The President of South African Cricket board in a meeting with the representatives of the other two nations made a suggestion about the formation of an ‘Imperial Cricket Conference’. The function of this organization would be to formulate rules and regulations for the game and govern the international matches played by the 3 nations. This suggestion was adopted by all three nations and ICC was formed in 1909.
In 1964, Pakistan suggested to expand the membership of ICC to non-test playing nations. The idea was taken up and new members were admitted into the organization. Along with that, the name of the organization was also changed from ‘Imperial’ to ‘International’, as the game was no longer being played by the Imperial colonies only. At that time, the International Cricket Conference had full members as well as associate members like U.S.A., Fiji and Ceylon.
In 1989, another name change was introduced and it was made ‘International Cricket Council’, with the same initials ‘ICC’. Until then the Chairmanship of the council was held by the President of MCC. This practice came to an end with the election of Colin Cowdrey as the new president. This organization also got more power to control the cricketing affairs around the world for before it was only able to give suggestions to national cricket boards but now it could ‘IMPOSE’ its rules and decisions on its members.
At present ICC is the controlling and governing body and its rulings are accepted by all members. ICC had its head office at the Lord’s cricket stadium which is regarded as the ‘home of cricket’. However, with the increasing commercialization of the game, it was decided in the organization’s financial interest that the head office be moved to Dubai.
With the introduction of new offices like an elected chairman and Chief executive, which are now held by all the full members alternately, and the introduction of new regulation the almost ‘veto’ power that England and Australia enjoyed for a long time has ended. All the Test playing members are now considered equals and, theoretically, a proper balance of power has been achieved.
Role of ICC and Important Decisions
As the governing body in cricket, ICC is responsible to promote the game globally and further its cause by finding new fronts for the game. Organizing development activities for the game around the globe is one of the primary jobs it has. Also utilizing commercial opportunities for the good of the game is also a part of ICC’s portfolio.
Code of Conduct
In 2000, ICC published the code of cricket in a bid to bring the game’s rules and regulations in line with changing times. The Council is also responsible of making sure that all members follow these rules and in any instance where a controversy arises, the final decision rests with ICC. It has the power to penalize and suspend players of all the member nations to make sure that the game is played in its true spirit and its integrity is not compromised by any.
Major Events
ICC organizes the major international cricket tournaments like World Cup, World Championship, U-19 World Cup, ICC Trophy, ICC Inter-Continental Cup and also women’s events.
Cricket Calendar
ICC also formulates the cricket calendar for its member nations so that all countries shall play against each other regularly. At times different political differences between countries make this calendar difficult to follow but, by and large, all the nations abide by this event calendar.
Test & ODI Rankings
This practice of a regular ‘home’ and ‘away’ calendar has given birth to the concept of team rankings. Currently ICC has Test Rankings as well as One Day Rankings, which are constantly updated with every match that is played worldwide. This calendar also makes it possible for younger nations to play against the more seasoned ones and gain experience.
Introduction of Technology to the Game
ICC has constantly been trying to keep cricket in tune with changing times. The introduction of new technologies like TV replay for umpiring decisions, Duckworth and Lewis method to calculate totals in rain affected matches, the introduction with Power Plays and field restrictions and experimentation of Super-Sub are the kind of steps that have been taken to make the game not only fairer but also more interesting.
Appointment of Match Officials
The appointment and assessment of the international umpires who will officiate in matches around the world is also another important task that ICC performs. With the introduction of neutral umpires and to make sure that umpiring remains an unbiased aspect of the game, ICC has formed an elite umpire’s panel. These umpires, and also match referees, are chosen from all the member countries and then are sent to officiate matches around the world. ICC does their performance reviews to maintain the highest standard of umpiring in the game.
Development of Cricket
The expansion of the cricketing world during the past few years has been exceptional. ICC has three types of memberships at present depending on the status of cricket in a country.
Full members are the Test playing nations and are currently 10 in number.
Associate members are the countries where cricket has been firmly established yet they may not be a part of the normal cricket calendar. Kenya amongst these members is a more regular feature in international One-days. There are around 27 associate members in the council.
Affiliate members are the country where, ICC believes, that cricket is being played in accordance with its proper rules. 55 countries are considered affiliate members of ICC.
ICC is organizing development programs in these associate and affiliate countries in a bid to make them competent on the international level.
Anti-Corruption Efforts
Crickets came under a lot of fire during the past decade regarding the evil of betting and match fixing. ICC took upon itself to uproot these evils from the game and restore the games reputation. For this purpose ICC has formed an Anti Corruption Unit that keeps an eye on any suspect activity in the game around the globe.
Fair Play Issues
Another major issue that ICC deals with is the issue of suspect bowling action. If in a match the umpires think that a bowler is ‘throwing’ the ball, or that his bowling action does not conform to the ICC codes, that player is reported. Tests are performed on that player and then ICC rules about the legality of the action.
A Review of ICC’s Role
Along with the great job being done in terms of developing the game, there are some decisions like the recent implementation and, the later reversal, of Super Subs rule.
The Code of Conduct regulations, similarly, sound better than they actually are. There have been many incidents where one side or the other feels they have been hard done by the officials. To add to that, quite a few former cricketers have openly questioned the way these rules are implemented because many believe that the overly strict regulations are curbing the flair of the game.
Even while ICC holds the mantle of the game’s governing body, it has become glaringly apparent that it is an organization without much in the name of teeth. There have been occasions where financial benefits have made the ICC work around their own rules to accommodate certain countries. India’s recent rejection of the Champion’s Trophy and the ICC calendar was an instance of that.
Whether you think it related or not, ICC’s recent move to Dubai is also taken as a shift of power from England-Australia duo to the Asian market. With the power of sponsorships that India alone generates, it is certainly not just the taxes that played a role in the move to Asia.
Among the positives, there is the implementation of 20twenty games and the prospect of developing the format forward. This development will certainly increase the load of cricket on the players, but it is also a move that can bring Cricket into the mainstream as a sport. Especially because of its exciting, and less time consuming, nature than the other two formats.
