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Speed vigorously opposed decision on Zimbabwe

silentstriker

The Wheel is Forever
Some interesting excerpts:
Speed said he "cannot see" the ICC stripping Zimbabwe of its Full Member status on the grounds of financial mismanagement and links with the ruling Zanu-PF. He detailed the sequence of events leading to his exit from the ICC, beginning with the ICC board's review in March this year of the KPMG report into the finances of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC). The report, Speed said, showed that there had been irregularities in ZC's finances but the ICC resolved to take no further action on the basis that the report did not prove any individual within ZC had profited.
The other major issue towards the end of Speed's tenure was the emergence of India as cricket's power centre. While asserting that India should act responsibly, he said there was "too much fear" of an Indian takeover and the power of the Indian administrators. Instead, he said the game needs to tap into the passion for cricket in India - "cricket is the most popular sport by a factor of about 30 in the second-most populous country in the world".

India's emergence has coincided with a decline in the power of the ICC and Speed put it down to its structure. "I think it is common ground that the board is too large. Sixteen directors is a large gathering. All countries have agreed to this structure and it is very unlikely that it will be changed.

"In recent years, Australia has been a very close ally of India in major strategic decisions - perhaps its closest ally. There is a lot of speculation about the 'Asian bloc' in cricket. This occurs rarely. In the past few years, Australia has been more likely to vote with India than some of the Asian countries.
http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/current/story/380801.html
 

Precambrian

Banned
"In recent years, Australia has been a very close ally of India in major strategic decisions - perhaps its closest ally. There is a lot of speculation about the 'Asian bloc' in cricket. This occurs rarely. In the past few years, Australia has been more likely to vote with India than some of the Asian countries.
Oops.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
India's emergence has coincided with a decline in the power of the ICC
Dunno where they get this from. ICC has never been an all-powerful body - save perhaps for a year or two around 2001, where Speed himself took on Jagmohan Dalmiya and Dalmiya knew he'd come-off second-best if he took it all the way so ended-up backing down.

However, before that the match-fixing scandal said all there was to say about the ICC's nothingness. It is and always has been merely the sum of its parts. In the early days (the mid-1990s) these parts were somewhere near equal, but for the last 4-5 years India have had almost complete control.
 

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