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e the piece de resistance the giant mobile corporate edifice of the kfc skybox where original recipe and vb reigned supreme but with the end of the australian summer at hand and a brief hiatus until the baggy green tackle the proteas in far away south africa the thorny question of just how to maintain the momentum now rears its ugly head fans fear not because the team have been hard at work over the christmas period to plan for such an eventuality and i can exclusively reveal that in addition to the launch of the shanerwatson twitter character the team are proud to announce and sell to you the fellows of february calendar that s right a calendar available exclusively by retweets of ca digital media click bait material concerned that amidst the blizzard of social media and promotions focussing on social frivolity rather than on field happenings ca may be losing core supporters the creative types started work on executing the plan in conjunction with none other than the frank drebin of selectors the urbane john inverarity artfully conceived the plan targeted the selection of 28 players to represent australia in the international arena with each earning the privilege of appearing as a daily pin up accompanied by one of ca s 19 commercial partners and 4 broadcasters with the remaining spots available for a negotiable fee having skilfully accomplished this wondrous feat of planning and talent management last month you can now grab your exclusive and highly prized memento of a golden summer just head to ca digital media and use the special hashtag iloveiloveacalendarboy until next time that is stumps aside posted on february 4 2014 by thatisstumps in aussie cricket discussion leave a comment it s legs eleven at the souk in a souk under the blazing dubai sun a cacophony of raised voices and shouted demands cuts through the early morning silence as officials of full member nations continue their unedifying daily haggling with the stall holders of the bcci ecb and ca around the future of the icc and the structure of world cricket it is a scene that has been seen often over the past week since formal meetings began to discuss the draft fc a position paper and each day has brought us fresh news of the latest peripheral accommodation sold in exchange for their vote in today s latest update from the horse trading at the souk we receive news of a fresh proposal to facilitate the possibility of top associate members attaining test status you might recall that just a few short days ago that a promotion and relegation system was suggested under which there would be two tiers of test cricket one involving the top 8 full members and a lower level that accommodated zimbabwe bangladesh and the top 6 associate nations who would play in an intercontinental cup the winner of this competition would earn the right to challenge the lowest ranked nation from the top tier for promotion to the top flight over a 4 match series with the victor being elevated or remaining in the top tier that is unless one of the bottom ranked teams were the rich merchants of the bcci ecb or ca who were unilaterally exempted from such market forces in order to protect their business interests and without whom it was argued the souk would fall into financial ruin as an encouragement for the development of cricket in leading associate nations the proposal had some merit as well as providing continued incentive for those in the top flight to maintain and enhance standards naturally self interest and the now familiar horse trading at the souk saw the proposal quickly jettisoned given that the stall holders required the support of zimbabwe and bangladesh to advance their broader financial agenda the latest negotiations have resulted in a new proposal that would provide the leading associate nation with the opportunity to challenge the lowest ranked test nation to a series victory in which would award them test status for the following four year period naturally given their previous accommodations the stall holders have assured full members that their test status will not be affected regardless of the result legs eleven cries the bingo caller at the souk again it is not a bad proposal if the aim is to provide clearer pathways for leading associates but it remains eerily silent as was its earlier incarnation on the broader implications of such a decision the first and most important issue it ignores is the very clear link between test status and full membership of the icc with all of the financial and voting rights it brings as the icc website makes clear in its members overview section full members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the icc or countries associated for cricket purposes or a geographical area from which representative teams are qualified to play official test matches it goes on to note in their section icc classification of official cricket with effect from january 2014 that test matches are those which a are played in accordance with the icc standard test match playing conditions and other icc regulations pertaining to test matches and b are between i teams selected by full members of the icc as representatives of the member countries full member teams ii a full member and a composite team selected by the icc as representative of the best players from the rest of the world and yet under this proposal from the dubai souk there appears to be no suggestion that should the top ranked associate would attain full member status should they defeat the bottom ranked test nation this should really come as no surprise given the narrowing of financial and governance power to the bcci ecb and ca articulated even under the latest modification of the fc a proposal after all such status would create an additional albeit much disembodied voice and vote at the icc table not to mention reducing the distributions after contribution cost to each full member by around 5 7m over the next 8 rights year cycle based on realistic icc revenue projections of 2 5b this is the real elephant in the room test status confers full membership rights and it does so because those that attain it meet a set of criteria see here for details that demonstrate their financial stability the sustainability and strength of cricket in their nation or region and their ability to grow the game in return they are entitled to a greater share of icc revenue and decision making power as a full member it is clear that historically this criteria has not always been consistently applied by the present incarnation of the icc bangladesh for example had neither a fc structure at the time of their introduction or a sustained period of dominance at lower levels nor does it appear that members are regularly reviewed against it as zimbabwe lurch from one disaster to another over the past decade as a corrupt government and compliant cricket administration burn piles of icc cash and reduce player numbers and programmes to the point where have been unable to afford to participate in test cricket and pay their players on several occasions but past failings of governance should not mean that such criteria are not relevant into the future if the new proposal emanating from the souk is adopted associates can attain test status without the need to meet a set of criteria that if sensibly and objectively measured ensures that they continue to invest in cricket infrastructure participation and playing strength equally though such participation may impede their ascension to full membership new nations have historically struggled to be immediately competitive and this may colour judgement over full membership applications as the strength is no longer purely assessed against performance at lower levels in addition if the fc a document can be believed the successful associate would experience an additional financial impost by having to host unprofitable tours of which this position paper would have us believe there are many and without the additional icc revenue derived from full membership and with no guarantees of bilateral series against the big 3 would they really be better off and then of course with potentially another test nation added there is the problematic question of how to create a realistic ftp with meaningful test series length when scheduling issues and the lust for financial returns cannot see such a dream realised in the present day with less nations to accommodate realistically if it is desirable to ensure that test cricket remains competitive and relevant and have each nation play each other on a home and away basis every four years with each series having a minimum of 3 tests it is hard to find a way in which this could work with more than 9 teams given that this would result in each playing 6 to 8 tests each domestic summer after all it is hard to have a fair and realistic ranking system without a workable ftp a greater number of teams will simply result in either more meaningless two test series or less frequent or potentially no bilateral tours to smaller full members from the largest three nations which would further erode the already fragile financial position of many given the almost certain introduction of the contribution cost model over the next rights cycle however as srini giles and wally board their magic carpet en route to the burj al arab weary from another day of frenzied bargaining at the souk that brings them ever closer to their goal you can rest assured that they will waste not one minute s contemplation on such difficult issues after all they are not particularly germane or helpful to their broader agenda tomorrow will undoubtedly be another frantic day at the souk bringing more breathless news of new deals alliances and accommodations but it is unlikely to supply the answer to this problem until the market opens tomorrow that is stumps aside posted on january 31 2014 by thatisstumps in cricket hot topics leave a comment the beginning of the reckoning this is only the beginning of the reckoning this is only the first sip the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health we arise again and take our stand for freedom winston churchill uttered these words in the house of commons in 1938 just a few days after the then british pm neville chamberlain stepped from plane clutching the now infamous munich agreement in his hand with the proud boast that i have returned with peace for our time perhaps we could substitute chamberlain for alan isaac the icc chairman who has just received a draft proposal hatched in secret by the bcci ecb and ca under the auspices of a working group of the icc finance and commercial affairs fc a committee a report that seeks to address the significant challenges to the viability of cricket for an icc that has lost touch with the issues members face in sustaining the growth of cricket in their markets in return for greater control over the icc and a greater share of its revenues this already powerful triumvirate assert that their plan will ensure that test cricket remains competitive and relevant re energise nation versus nation cricket while recognising the permanent place in cricket for certain major domestic events make the financial position of a number of the full associate and affiliate members sustainable ensure a fair distribution of revenues recognising the contribution of each member to the icc both on and off the field ensure sufficient and appropriate support for associate and affiliate members establish an ideal structure for the icc and streamline bilateral arrangements to ensure relevance to icc events and the viability of the game in relevant markets you could be forgiven for stretching the earlier historical allusion a little further and think of the institutions and finances of the icc as a modern day sudetenland with these three powerful boards as the axis powers the more acerbic among you might even be moved to attribute the monikers of mein fuhrer il duce and fimimaro konoe to their leaders perhaps this goes slightly too far but it is certainly no exaggeration to say that the final outcome of discussions and negotiations over coming weeks will be of critical import to the game not just in the immediate future but likely for decades to come at stake is the democratic character of the constitution first they ask people to agree to the establishment of a protective system including taxes and secondly they ask that the lords shall be granted not merely the veto they have used so freely over legislation but a hereditary veto over finance as well but as the speaker winston churchill went on to say over a century ago in a debate over extending the powers of the house of lords it is not merely a question of rejection of the budget but the claim of a chamber over which you have no control which may be civil to you if it likes but which if it chooses to cut up rusty is altogether beyond the reach of your remonstrations they are matters of vital and striking importance churchill could just as easily have been commenting on the fc a draft proposal that when stripped of its shiny facade seeks to concentrate the powers and revenues of the icc into the hands of its authors via the introduction of an all powerful new executive committee exco and the concept of a contribution cost that would be applied against all icc revenue essentially providing an exceptionally uneven commission structure to full members the proposed exco would consist of a permanent representative from each of the bcci ecb and ca together with a representative from one other full member nation with the wide remit of being the sole recommendation committee to the icc board on all constitutional personnel integrity ethics development nomination and revenue distribution matters effectively proposals from any of the other 8 icc committees will require exco support before they are presented to the board consisting as it does of the 10 full members 3 associates ceo vice president and chair it is unclear how the introduction of a committee that effectively concentrates decision making into the hands of just three icc members and which actively restricts the diversity of voices and opinions heard by the board remains consistent with the aim of the working group in ensuring that the icc reverts to being a member driven organisation an organisation of the members and for the members equally baffling is the way in which the fc a proposal seeks to fulfil its objectives of making the financial position of a number of the full associate and affiliate members sustainable and ensuring that associate and affiliate members receive sufficient and appropriate support by developing and advocating a contribution cost model that effectively takes millions of dollars of potential future income away from them and diverts it into the hands of the 3 wealthiest members in particular the bcci although it is presented as a...