MUMBAI: Geoff Allardice has been appointed to the position of ICC General Manager- Cricket to succeed David Richardson, who has been promoted to ICC chief executive.

For the past decade, Geoff has worked with Cricket Australia, most recently as the ?General Manager, Cricket Operations?. Geoff played first class cricket for Victoria.

David Richardson said: "Geoff has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained during his time with Cricket Australia. I am looking forward to working with him and deploying his undoubted talent at the ICC. He is a great addition to our Team."

MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council has amended its management structure which would see the creation of a new post of chairman and water down the powers of president besides scrapping the post of vice-president altogether effective 2014.

Until the end of the 2014 ICC Annual Conference, the role of the ICC President will remain in its current form but from the end of the 2014 Annual Conference it will become ceremonial in nature with a term of only one year.

The term of office of the chairman will be two years. The ICC Board will appoint the chairman at its first meeting following the 2014 Annual Conference.

Meanwhile, Alan Isaac, the former chairman of New Zealand Cricket, was inaugurated as the eighth President of the ICC in succession to Sharad Pawar. Isaac will serve for a two-year term.

David Richardson was confirmed by the Conference as successor to Haroon Lorgat, who stood down after four years, as the ICC Chief Executive. Richardson, who played 42 Tests for South Africa, has been ICC?s GM- Cricket for the last 10 years.

Additionally, Russia and Hungary were confirmed as new affiliate members of the ICC but Switzerland was removed as an affiliate member, having been suspended at the 2011 Annual Conference for failing to comply with the ICC?s membership criteria and remaining unable to do so by the 2012 Annual Conference.

There are now 106 Members of the ICC.

MUMBAI: The five day ICC Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur will see a change of guard in the top hierarchy of the game?s world governing body with Sharad Pawar making way for New Zealand?s Alan Isaac to take charge as president.

Pawar, who completes his two-year term at the end of the week, was the second Indian after Jagmohan Dalmiya to take a shot at the post. During his tenure, he oversaw the successful organising of the 2011 ICC World Cup in the sub-continent.

The conference, which begins 24 June, will also see incumbent Haroon Lorgat stepping down as the chief executive of the ICC. Lorgat was appointed chief executive of the ICC in April 2008 succeeding Malcolm Speed, an Australian.

The ICC Annual Conference will begin with the Chief Executives? Committee (CEC) meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and ends on 28 June with the inauguration of the eighth ICC President, Alan Isaac, at the Annual Conference.

The ICC Council, at its meeting on 28 June, will be asked to approve amendments to the ICC Articles which will create the post of Chairman from June 2014 with the President?s role being ambassadorial from that date onwards, the ICC said in a statement.

David Richardson has been selected as the chief executive of ICC, his appointment requires confirmation from the CEC. Prior to being appointed as the chief executive, Richardson served ICC as GM of Cricket.

The ICC Associate and Affiliate Members meeting on 25 June will elect their three representatives to serve two-year terms on the ICC Board, the statement added.

On the agenda of the CEC meeting are recommendations from the ICC Cricket Committee which include the reaffirmation of the universal application of the Decision Review System (DRS), minor enhancements to the 50-over format and, importantly, discussions on the protection and promotion of international cricket within a changed landscape that is showing a growing number of domestic professional T20 leagues.

The ICC Board, which will meet on 26 and 27 June, will receive various reports and recommendations emanating from Board sub-committees and the CEC.

Among these will be the annual report from the chairman of ACSU, membership issues including applications for ICC Affiliate Membership from Russia and Hungary.

The Board will also continue its discussions, which have been ongoing since the last meeting among the directors and Members, on the Woolf report and further consider the strategies being developed to protect and promote all three formats of the game at the international level.

MUMBAI: Cricket Holdings America, a joint venture between New Zealand Cricket and the United States of America Cricket Association, has appointed TSE Consulting to assist with its plans to initiate a Twenty20 cricket league in North America.

TSE Consulting has been appointed to deliver the host city selection process and the development of facility specifications, together with PROS Consulting, the US-based management and planning consultancy.

An aggressive programme to identify franchise locations in major North American markets will be underway shortly, TSE said.

Cricket Holdings America Director Neil Maxwell states, "We have taken time to put all the pieces in place for a successful league that will be a lasting addition to the sports industry in North America. We look forward to announcing the cities that will host teams in the near future and the development of new cricket facilities throughout America. We are delighted to be working with TSE and PROS whose combined knowledge of host cities and facility development is the perfect fit for us."

The formation of this league is the culmination of two years of collaboration with the International Cricket Council (ICC), whose support has ensured that the right foundations are in place for the development of a successful league.

The focus is to combine cricket with entertainment to create a truly fan-centric experience and bolster the 50,000-strong and growing active competitor base in the US.

Currently, the only ICC-sanctioned cricket facility in the US is located in Broward County, FL, where TSE has assisted in development of a business plan for the facility. The development of new facilities and use of temporary venues are a part of the plans for growing the game and staging a League.

TSE Consulting - North America Director Dale Neuburger says, "The new league will be a great addition to the American sports landscape. Keith Wyness and the CHA team have provided the vision and expertise to support rapid growth in the popularity of cricket in North America, and TSE is honoured to have the opportunity to participate in the city identification and facility development process."

MUMBAI: Test cricket, which has been fast losing its popularity to the shorter version of the game, is going to experiment with the day and night format to attract prime time television audience.

In a significant development, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Committee has agreed to maintain the impetus with regard to day and night Test cricket and recommended that should the competing countries in a bi-lateral series agree that they wish to try this out, this request should be accommodated.

The Committee also agreed that the trials at domestic level should continue.

Market research has recognised that the appeal of day and night Test cricket might be better suited to certain markets, particularly India, New Zealand and South Africa, and the trials revealed certain cricket balls retained their colour and performed better than others.

The ICC Cricket Committee had earlier received reports of the ongoing trials and considered the reports involving the development and feasibility of using different colour balls in multi-day formats in day and night conditions. They also considered a report from John Stephenson of the MCC on the experiences of their annual games in Abu Dhabi, reports from Australia, England and Pakistan as well as spectator feedback.

The encouraging change over the late years is that the value of Test cricket has fallen at a time when the level of competitiveness has intensified and matches have started yielding more results.

Statistics from David Kendix demonstrate that over-rates are at their highest in five years in Test cricket and that the average frequency of no-balls has dropped sharply. There is also a reduction in high scoring draws and that spin bowlers are being deployed more often in all forms of the game.

Kendix, who supplied these statistics to the Committee, also highlights that Test cricket is as competitive now as it has been for many years with five teams being separated by only eight rating points.

The committee, thus, feels that there is a need now, through the Targeted Assistance Performance Programme (TAPP) and the Future Tours Programme (FTP), to improve the competitiveness of some of the lesser performing countries.

Twenty20 strategy: With the popularity of this format of the game fast rising, the ICC Cricket Committee feels that it is wise to let the status quo prevail.

The ICC Cricket Committee supports the World Twenty20 being held every two years; the World Twenty20s should continue to be joint men?s and women?s events; and World Twenty20 should be 16 men?s team event from 2014 in order to encourage the development of the game.

The Committee does not think there is need to have an ICC World U19 Twenty20.

The Committee?s views are, thus, in line with those of the ICC Board and the Chief Executive Council?s which have already agreed that the ICC World Twenty20 would remain a joint men?s and women?s event and that the men?s teams should increase from 12 to 16 teams from 2014 onwards.

International cricket, being the lifeblood of the world game, needs the ICC to play a leadership role to protect and promote international cricket. Recognising this, the committee believes that the ICC and its member boards need to proactively ensure that the attraction of international cricket is primary and not only maintained but enhanced.

MUMBAI: The ICC Board has recommended the name of David Richardson, the ICC General Manager ? Cricket, to succeed compatriot Haroon Lorgat as the ICC CEO to the ICC Annual Conference.

The ICC Nominations Committee met in Mumbai at the weekend to interview four ?outstanding candidates? for the chief executive?s role and on Thursday obtained the ICC Board?s support via teleconference for Richardson?s nomination.

Besides Richardson, those in the fray included England and Wales Cricket Board CEO David Collier and former Karnataka cricketer and head of adidas South East Asia Tarun Kunzru. The fourth candidate was from Australia going by the name Baker.

The ICC Annual Conference is to be held in Malaysia capital Kuala Lumpur on 28 June.

If endorsed, Richardson will become the fourth ICC CEO. His predecessors were David Richards (1993-2001), Malcolm Speed (2001-2008) and Haroon Lorgat, whose current four-year tenure ends on 30 June 2012.

Johannesburg-born Richardson, 52, has been the ICC General Manager ? Cricket for the last 10 years and has an outstanding CV having represented South Africa as a wicketkeeper in 42 Test matches and 122 One-Day Internationals.

On retiring from international cricket in 1998, Mr Richardson, a qualified lawyer, maintained close contact with the game as both a business director with Octagon SA and as a media commentator before becoming the ICC?s first General Manager in January 2002.

After hearing of his nomination, Richardson said: ?It is a great honour to be nominated to be chief executive of the ICC. I am delighted with this opportunity and thank the ICC Board for their approval. It has been a privilege to serve as ICC General Manager ? Cricket, and that work will continue until such time as the ICC Annual Conference ratifies my nomination. I am looking forward to working closely with all the membership and stakeholders in the game."