The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will not be supporting a draft proposal that would give power in international cricket to India, England and Australia. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is proposing a two-tier system which will divide Test playing nations, with the West Indies because of their current rankings, qualifying for the lower division.
Decision was reached during a two-day emergency meeting by teleconference which ended late Wednesday night. A WICB spokesperson said yesterday that the WICB position would not be made public until it is articulated before the quarterly meeting of the (ICC) in Dubai on January 28 and 29.
According to the spokesperson: "The Board has taken a position in the best interest of West Indies Cricket and which president Dave Cameron will present to the ICC Board meeting next week in Dubai."
He went on to say that: "The WICB views it as prudent to present the Board's position to the ICC meeting before making any further public comment."
However, T&T Guardian understands that the directors, after studying the proposal, in its entity was against supporting it as it could do serious damage to the game in the region.
It is understood that while the WICB directors were not againt all the points on the 'working paper', they took a position that if they supported this move, the game would be affected financially in the region and hence would lead to its decline in popularity.
Cricket South Africa has already made their point clear in terms of not supporting the move, while the other cricket boards are currently finalising their position on the matter. New Zealand Cricket seems to be supporting the move because of their close association with Cricket Australia. Sri Lankan Cricket will ask the ICC to postpone the discussion on the draft proposals. SLC has avoided offering a definitive stance on the proposals, but has suggested it is resistant to their implementation, as it would result in a significant loss of the board's influence on the global governance of the game.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said the Bangladesh board will consider the other Full Members' positions before making a decision. However, ESPNcricinfo reported yesterday that when asked for their individual opinions at a board meeting, an overwhelming majority of the BCB directors said the board should side with the BCCI or "we will be cornered".
The main concern for Bangladesh is playing Test cricket–something which is now under threat as one of the proposals is to make the teams ranked Nos. 9 and 10 play in the Intercontinental Cup (the ICC's first-class tournament for non-Test nations) from 2015.
A board director, seeking anonymity, said that even if that proposal is approved, Bangladesh could still play bilateral series with the top eight if they align with India.
The ICC working paper is proposing that Test cricket is played under a two tiered system in which England, India and Australia will not be demoted while teams like West Indies and New Zealand would find themselves in the second tier.
The issue has sparked a raging debate former chairman of the West Indies Cricket Board's Governance Committee, Charles Wilkin, appealing to WICB and regional governments to resist the move.