ICC asks West Indies board to probe into Samuels matter

Dubai—The ICC board has asked the West Indies board to investigate match-fixing allegations against Marlon Samuels and has accepted the recommendations of the Umpires’ Task force after the conclusion of a two-day meeting at its headquarters in Dubai.
After receiving a report from its anti-corruption and security unit, the ICC has asked the West Indies board to is to submit the results of its investigations into allegations over Samuels’ involvement in match-fixing by January 31, 2008. against. On February 7, this year, the Nagpur police charged Samuels with sending team information to Mukesh Kochar, an alleged bookie, during West Indies’ tour to India. The ICC had allowed Samuels to take part in the World Cup and beyond, pending the final assessment of whether Samuels was involved.
The Umpires’ Task Force, consisting of David Morgan, the ICC chairman, Geoff Allardice, Cricket Australia’s general manager, Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC’s chief match referee, and Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager, had met in September and some of its recommendations included: Expanding the Elite Panel of umpires from 10 to 12.
Setting up of an accreditation process for umpires who wish to gain entry into the International Panel. The appointment of five regional umpires to work under the ICC umpires’ manager. They will work with umpires belonging to the Elite and International panels from their region as well as visiting umpires.
Retaining the current policy with regard to the appointment of neutral umpires An independent four-person selection group, chaired by the ICC general manager, which will be responsible for the selection of umpires to the panels and for matches. Other results of the board meeting The board formally appointed Morgan as the ICC’s president-elect and Sharad Pawar as its vice-president. Constitutional amendments relating to the presidency of the ICC were discussed and approved. The ICC president will now have a two-year term without the option of a third term and there will be a regional rotation-policy for the role. The board decided to remove the nomination committee and the nominations process from the ICC’s constitution. The groupings of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 were released. The board approved New South Wales Cricket Association as the host State Cricket Association for the 2009 Women’s World Cup. The board has decided to commemorate the ICC’s centenary, which is in 2009. The terms of reference for the setting up of a permanent medical committee were decided upon, with an eye on its creation before the 2008 Champions Trophy.
The board received an update relating to the audit of the Zimbabwe board, which is being conducted by the South African branch of KPMG, the global accountancy firm. A four-member recruitment committee, comprising Morgan, Pawar, Ray Mali, the current ICC president, and Creagh O’Connor, the chairman of Cricket Australia, will be given the task of finding a successor to Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, who is due to resign after next year’s annual conference. —Agencies