Hours after CricketNext reported about the resignations of top International Cricket Council (ICC) officials Chris Tetley and Claire Furlong, the staff of the global body has been informed about the development via an internal email. The two resignations come just a week before the ICC Annual Conference in Sri Lanka where the chaotic conduct of the recently concluded T20 World Cup is set to be discussed.
More than just discussions, a thorough investigation into the expenses during the USA leg of the multi-nation event is likely to be called for and Associate Member Director Pankaj Khimji has already expressed his concerns to the rest of the members via a letter last month.
Both Tetley and Furlong, who led operations and other activation activities in the USA, were expected to face a lot of heat in the upcoming meet and sources tracking developments suggest resignation will not take away the accountability. While it couldn’t be confirmed whether Tetley would be in attendance but Furlong will be part of the July 19-July 22 meet.
“Resignations would have come as a surprise to many but it anyway sounds better than suspension pending investigation. The USA leg will still be discussed and the roles of the two individuals will be thoroughly questioned. A lot of money has been spent, so someone has to answer the questions of all members. There are attempts to ensure an honourable exit but thorough investigation must be completed first,” says a source close to developments.
The biggest discussion point is going to be the formation of T20 USA Inc and filling it up with individuals handpicked by the ICC employees. USA Cricket was already there as the co-host was a signatory on the hosting agreement as the Associate Member (AM) nation but were reduced to mere spectators as top employees of the global body took complete control of finances, marketing, budgeting and all the activities involved in hosting a multi-nation event.
“Whatever a host nation is supposed to do, the firm called T20 USA Inc was doing. It is a bit unusual because the duties of a host nation were performed by the individuals picked by active ICC employees. Now this paperwork needs to be thoroughly investigated and one needs to see how much money ICC splurged in the USA,” adds the source.
The two resignations are just the start of the many changes expected in the Dubai headquarters of the global cricketing body. General Manager Alex Marshall, who was earlier heading both HR and the Integrity Unit, will now only be heading the Integrity Unit and a new HR head is likely to join/appointed soon.
11 candidates to contest for three spots
At the Annual Conference, the elections will be held for the three Associate Member Directors positions. It will be held on the opening day and as many as 11 candidates have thrown their hat in the ring.
Pankaj Khimji of Oman, Imran Khwaja of Singapore and Neil Speight of Bermuda are currently holding the positions, and they will be competing with eight other candidates next week.
Sam Arthur (Costa Rica), Dr Rudie Van Vuuren (Namibia), Sankar Renganathan (Sierra Leone), Mubashshir Usmani (UAE), Gurumurthy Palani (France), Mahinda Vallipuram (Malaysia), Stephen Musaele (Rwanda) and Mahmood Gaznavi (Singapore) are the other candidates.
Both Usmani and Sankar Renganathan are strong contenders as the two are well connected in the cricketing circles. While Usmani is currently part of the ICC’s Chief Executive Committee (CEC), Sankar has been fighting a long battle against the current establishment in the US and was part of the now-defunct United States of America Cricket Association (USACA).
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