MacLaurin fears ICC HQ move to India

[hitman1980]

A 7-3 majority of the Test-playing countries will be required to endorse the move, and India – as the powerhouse of the world game – can normally count on sufficient votes. Only two countries, England and New Zealand, consistently oppose India in ICC executive board meetings. "I would be very sad if the ICC moved to India," Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of the ECB, said. "I think it was a tragedy when the ICC left Lord's, the home of cricket. I believe Gordon Brown when Chancellor was ready to make some tax concessions, but it didn't happen. "The repercussions from a move to India could be very serious," MacLaurin added. "When I was ECB chairman I stipulated that England should always be able to play Australia every two years, and that is the sort of thing which could be affected." Two months ago, at an ICC board meeting in October, the idea of relocating ICC headquarters from Dubai to London was floated. But the same objections which led to the ICC moving away from Lord's still apply – insufficient tax allowances for international sports governing bodies sited in the UK – although the current ICC president, David Morgan, was tasked to sound out the British government. "It is now an open secret that the ICC board has proposed a return of its headquarters back to its historical home in London," Morgan said yesterday. "This came about at the October board meeting, when there was no mention of any other location. "Although Mumbai is an important centre for cricket and business, the HQ task team is charged with examining the prospects of returning to Lord's," Morgan added. But the composition of the six-man task team, under Morgan's chairmanship, suggests the way the wind is going to blow once his presidency finishes at the end of June: it includes Pawar, and the long-time power-broker of Indian cricket, Inderjit Singh Bindra. A third member is James Sutherland, the chief executive of Australian cricket, whose financial interests are increasingly linked to India's. Far more likely is a relocation to Mumbai, for many reasons, starting with a long-standing Indian distaste for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the power-base of Sheikh Bukhatir, who used to organise lucrative tournaments in Sharjah until India refused to play there, and is now a rival to the Indian board as a holder of cricket broadcasting rights. More significantly, Pawar is due to become the next president of the ICC in succession to Morgan. As a cricket administrator, he has been derided for his lack of knowledge of the game, and his regular failure to attend ICC meetings, whether in his current capacity as vice-president or in his previous position as chairman of the Indian board. As to his capabilities as an astute politician, however, there is no doubt. Pawar is renowned in India for never having lost an election. He is presently India's minister of agriculture, and is not expected to give up his job to devote all of his energies to the ICC, especially as India has recently suffered one of its worst droughts. Part of Pawar's political success is based on the fact that he stays at home, keeping an eye on his power-base in Maharashtra and Mumbai, and seldom travels abroad – and certainly not to the United Arab Emirates. All these considerations point to India, not London, as the next headquarters of the ICC. According to a highly informed source the office block next to the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, where the Indian board is based, has already been earmarked as the next administrative centre of the world game, or else the Bandra Kurla complex near the airport. The consequences for world cricket would be considerable if the ICC is in India's backyard and, effectively, their back pocket too. Some of the game's leading administrators would be unhappy at the prospect of relocating themselves and their families to Mumbai, Indian staff would naturally predominate along with their own values, and any administrative obstacles to the growth of the Indian Premier League would be removed. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/6890695/MacLaurin-fears-ICC-HQ-move-to-India.html Comment: What the hell is tht age old love with lords and england .. just kick these english guys out and move the HQ to India .. Wht's the big deal in tht .. And can these ppl stop putting Lord infront of their name ..

[achilles]

Tell the stupid fig, he is MacLaurin. Not McLaren :finger: Royal piece of sh-it

[PotterManiac]

HQ to India? Oh my god.. :D