ECB chairman Colin Graves says ICC can ‘recut the pot’


The ICC might imagine it had already fairly levelled the monetary playing field with its fresh revenue distribution mannequin in 2017, but Colin Graves, the outgoing chairman of ECB, says the global governing body can “recut the pot” to make it a a lot more equitable for the 12 Full Member countries.

In 2017 the ICC Board, on which Graves sits, approved a new finance mannequin that replaced the controversial arrangement worked out by the Big 3 comprising BCCI, ECB and Cricket Australia. As per the 2017 finance mannequin, for ICC earnings estimated at $2.7 billion for the 2016-23 rights cycle, BCCI would get $405 million and ECB $139 million.

Every of Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, Pakistan Cricket Board, New Zealand Cricket, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket West Indies and Bangladesh Cricket Board would get $128 million. As for the smaller countries: Zimbabwe Cricket would get $94 million with Cricket Ireland and Afghanistan Cricket Board drawing approximately $40 million.

Since then those figures have been revised rather with all countries getting lesser money because of shifting global economy affecting ICC revenues. That, though, has had lesser affect on BCCI, ECB and CA, which rely on the lucrative media rights derived from bilateral and domestic T20 cricket leagues primarily.

The remainder of the Test-playing countries have failed to safe long-term broadcasting contracts which has increased their reliance on the once a year payout from the ICC, which comes twice a year in January and July.

This level of disparity would hazard the product of international cricket, according to a revealing paper submitted by Cricket West Indies to the ICC board in 2017. The writer of that paper was once CWI chief executive officer Johnny Grave. “The hole between wealthier and no more wealthy cricket nations is widening and will contribute to less wealthy nations being less competitive, subsequently devaluing the international cricket product,” the CWI paper said.

Graves believes there’s a solution though. “I think there is a way to do this,” Graves told Sky Sports at lunch on the first day of the last Test of the England-Pakistan series, being played in Southampton. “I sit down on that ICC Board at the moment and have done for the final four years and I think the ICC could look at the way that they share the money out from their pot. Because I am not being unkind: the ECB, BCCI and Cricket Australia aren’t reliant on the ICC pot. They’re reliant on their own pot.

“And I think the ICC could recut that pot differently with all those countries to verify they’re all sustainable because we need the entire countries sustainable going forward. Everyone of them.”

As it happens the 2017 finance mannequin isn’t a part of the ICC charter. In a paper on the new governance constitution in 2017, the ICC stated the main points of a financial mannequin will “be made up our minds by the Board now and again in a manner that may allow each and every member to get a different level of distribution”.

Graves’ term as ECB chairman comes to an on August 31. On the other hand, he remains probably the most contenders for the ICC chairman’s position which is yet to be filled after Shashank Manohar stepped down in June.

Graves on ICC chairman election

The current 16-member ICC Board has failed to succeed in a consensus on the chairman’s election process with debate surrounding if there must be a two-third majority or just simple majority all through voting process.

Without giving for free too much Graves said he would make a last call based on the improve he got at the ICC Board. “That is not up to me. At the end of the day the way the election goes it’s a must to be nominated so whether I don’t get nominated then I will be able to be nowhere close it anyways. When the nominations happen I’m going to have said to everybody I’m going to look at it and see where I am.”


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