Dubai: The two-day International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executives meeting commenced here on Monday, with one of the main points of discussion being an attempt to save India’s tour to South Africa in November-December.
Haroon Lorgat, the Chief Executive of the Cricket South Africa (CSA), and Sanjay Patel, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), were due to meet to discuss the issue.
Whether the all-powerful and cash-rich BCCI, which had protested about the appointment of Lorgat as CSA chief executive, will yield and go ahead with the proposed tour will be known only after their meeting.
Speaking to Gulf News, an ICC spokesperson said: “There will be no preview or review of the ICC chief executives meeting because the decisions of this meeting are recommendations to be made to the ICC board meeting, to be held in London from October 17 to 19.”
The CSA stands to lose a whopping $15 million (Dh55 million) if the BCCI sticks to its demand of not wanting Lorgat as South Africa’s chief executive.
The BCCI is understood to have clearly stated that Lorgat, who as ICC chief executive backed the controversial decision review system (DRS) and also the Woolf Governance Review against its wishes, should not be holding any administrative post in CSA.
It is understood that one of the main subjects of discussion during the meeting is the DRS.
Considering the BCCI’s stance on the matter and the price Lorgat is being forced to pay for expressing his opinion, the recommendation to the ICC board meeting may not to support the system.
The England and Australia chief executives are expected to present a series of proposals to make DRS more consistent, but it remains to be seen whether they will win approval for their requests.
If India’s tour to South Africa is either cancelled or trimmed, it would be seen as a blatant attempt by the BCCI to bully nations to agree to their decisions.
It will also be interesting to see whether the CSA will support Lorgat irrespective of its board being set to lose millions of dollars.
Another topic that is understood to be debated is the bad light issue.
During the Ashes series, the implementation of the bad light rule had provoked criticism.
The ICC chief executive’s meeting may want to change the playing conditions with regard to bad light and seek to use the floodlights at grounds whenever available.
The playing conditions for the 2015 World Cup may also be debated, while there is also expected to be a debate about the use of two new balls in one-day cricket.
It is understood that Asian countries may all want to join forces against the continued use of two new balls as they find that it has affected the effectiveness of their spinners.
