The independent governance review of the ICC has called for several radical changes to the governing body, starting with a re-examination of the rights and benefits of the Test-playing Full Member nations. The review, headed by Lord Woolf, the former chief justice of England and Wales, has asked for greater opportunities for non-Test playing countries to compete against the top nations and an increased say in the administration of the game.
The Woolf report recommends that the ICC do away with the present membership system of Full Members (the Test- playing countries), Associates (countries where cricket is firmly established and organised, such as Ireland etc) and Affiliates (countries where the game is played in accordance with the Laws of cricket, such as Bhutan etc), and instead have two clear membership classes: the Full Members and Associates.
It has asked that the ICC adopt the principle of one Board member, one vote. Under the ICC's current voting pattern, Full Member nations and the 35 Associates have one vote each, while the 60 Affiliates are split into groups of twelve, each of which has a single collective vote, adding up to a total of five. For a special resolution to change the ICC Constitution the requirement is for the support of eight Full Members and 38 out of 50 of the full council.
In another recommendation, the Woolf report asks for the current number of the full members be "reviewed" in order to "open up the full membership more widely." It suggests that mandatory test playing status "should not be a requirement of full member status." It says that the full member "class" should include Test playing nations "together with other high-performing (but not Test playing) members."
Being granted Full Membership gives a country greater access to the ICC's funds and greater voting power in the governing body's chief executive's committee as well as the full council.
The Associates mostly get their chances to play Test countries at ICC tournaments such as the World Cup and the World Twenty20 but the report called for the FTP to be modified to provide Associates more matches against the big boys outside these global events.
In its independent review, the Woolf panel has also asked for the ICC's executive board, currently made up of the heads of full member nations, three representatives of the Associates and Affiliates as well as president, vice-president and chief executive of the ICC, be restructured to include three independent directors given voting rights and remunerations.
The final report of the Woolf review presented to the ICC Executive Board on Tuesday and released to the public on Thursday. On Wednesday the ICC had announced its plan to split the post of president into a ceremonial and a governance role, stating that the decision had been in agreement with two of the Woolf report's 65 recommendations.
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