The ICC Board today unanimously acknowledged the lifetime ban imposed on Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria by ECB for his role in a English spot-fixing scandal and urged the member nations to enforce the verdict to the fullest extent.
“Following the recent decision of the ECB’s Disciplinary Panel in the anti-corruption proceedings brought against Danish Kaneria and Mervyn Westfield, the ICC Board unanimously acknowledged and agreed that the ICC and every Full, Associate and Affiliate Member should recognise and respect the sanctions imposed by the ECB’s Disciplinary Panel on those players,” ICC said in a statement.
Kaneria was banned for life by ECB last week after being found guilty on two charges of corruption in the Mervyn Westfield spot-fixing scandal. The 31-year-old Pakistani leg-spinner has said he will appeal against the verdict.
Grappling with the problem of spot-fixing, the ICC also emphasised on the need to remain extra vigilant in the area of anti-corruption and also maintain high level of education.
“Following the recommendations made in the De Speville report as to the capability of the ICC’s ACSU, Sir Ronnie told the ICC Board that the ACSU had increased its resources. He also repeated the desire for Governments to put in place criminal legislation to protect against deliberately under-performing for personal gain and noted that progress had been made in this area in Australia,” the statement said.
ICC also said that both Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), who are yet to implement a domestic anti-corruption code, will have such a code in place by 15 August, 2012.
After its two-day meeting, the ICC Board also said “there should be continued and consistent emphasis placed on the promotion of the three formats of international cricket, particularly 50-over cricket.”
”...in conjunction with the changes in playing regulations, there should be further consideration of the branding of ODI cricket, while being cognisant of the high level of interest in 50-over cricket in many countries.
The ICC Board also approved the recommended regulation changes in 50-over format including that “Powerplays be restricted to the first block of 10 overs and a batting Powerplay of five overs to be completed before the start of the 41st over.”
It also recommended that “a maximum of four fielders to be allowed outside the 30-yard circle in the non-Powerplay overs and the number of permitted short pitched balls should increase from one per over to two.
“There was also no objection to the introduction of Day/Night Test cricket dependent on the agreement of both participating teams,” the statement said.
The ICC Board also said that the informal discussions surrounding the ICC Independent Governance Review and the role of the ICC will continue and a further detailed debate will take place at the ICC’s next Board meeting in October in Sri Lanka.
“They also continued the important debate on the protection and promotion of international cricket within a changed landscape that is showing a growing number of domestic professional T20 leagues,” the statement said.
