According to ICC, the board agreed that in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and to follow best practice principles of good governance, it would seek to re-establish as quickly as possible the ‘independent’ position of ICC Chairman.
The ICC Chairman, Mr Shashank Manohar, has constituted a five-member steering group, which, under his leadership, also includes the respective Chairmen of the ICC’s Governance Review Committee, Executive Committee, Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee and Associate/Affiliate Member group, and will be supported by various members of ICC management.
As such, the Board unanimously agreed to propose to the Full Council that a new Chairman should be elected by the Board for a two-year term commencing at the June 2016 Board meeting through a secret balloting process overseen by the ICC’s independent Audit Committee Chairman.
While in the office, the ICC Chairman will not be allowed to hold any post with any Member Board and may be re-elected at the expiry of the term with a maximum limit of three terms.
To qualify to contest the election, it has been agreed that all nominees must be either a past or present ICC Board director and should have the support of at least two Full Member directors.
In addition, the Board agreed to approve changes to the terms of reference of the Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee and Executive Committee so as to remove the permanent positions for the nominees of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on these committees, and to allow fair access to membership for all Full and Associate Member directors, with the sole criteria being the skill, competence and experience of the relevant director. To that end, the present composition of the committees will be reviewed in their entirety in June 2016.
Moreover, the Board has also agreed to carry out a complete review of the 2014 resolutions and constitutional changes with a view to establishing governance, finance, corporate and cricketing structures that are appropriate and effective for the strategic role and function of the ICC and all of its members.
As part of this wide-ranging exercise, the ICC Board has directed that the ICC’s constitution be reviewed in its entirety and all members have been encouraged to provide feedback on this issue to ICC management during the next few weeks.
The steering group will report on progress at the April 2016 meeting, with a view to putting forward any required changes to the meetings during the ICC Annual Conference week in June 2016.
In a further attempt to improve the governance standards of, and transparency within, Member Boards, the ICC Board agreed to reinstate a previous requirement that Full Members must submit to the ICC their latest audited statements on an annual basis, as is already the case with all Associate and Affiliate Members.
ICC Chairman Mr Shashank Manohar said: “We had very purposeful and positive meetings, and the decisions taken clearly reflect that we collectively want to improve the governance in a transparent manner, not only of the ICC but also the Member Boards. This, in turn, will enhance the image and quality of the sport. No Member of the ICC is bigger than the other and I am determined to make a meaningful contribution in this regard with support of all the Members.”
