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International Cricket Council

International governing body of cricket

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The membership of the council has steadily increased from the founding three members, to over a hundred members by the 21st century. The ICC has 111 member nations, 12 of whom are designated as full members and are eligible to play Test cricket, while the remaining 98 are classified as associate members.

The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of international cricket tournaments, most notably the Men's and Women's ODI World Cups, Men's and Women's T20 World Cups, World Test Championship, and Men's and Women's Champions Trophy. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all Test matches, ODIs and T20Is. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket. It also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (except the World Test Championship final), and domestic cricket within its member countries. It does not make or alter the laws of the game, which have remained under the governance of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) since 1788.

The president served as the head of ICC since its inception, with the president of MCC usually serving as the president of ICC till 1989. In July 1989, the practice of the MCC president automatically serving as the president of the ICC was abolished, and Colin Cowdrey became the first independent president of the ICC. In 1993, the position of chief executive was created, and David Richards was the first to be appointed to the position. The position of the Chairman was created in 2014, and N. Srinivasan was announced as the first chairman of the council. The role of ICC president became a largely honorary position after the establishment of the chairman role, and was altogether abolished in April 2016. Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan in October 2015, became the first independent elected chairman of the ICC.

History

Imperial Cricket Conference (1909–1963)

On 30 November 1907, Abe Bailey, the president of the South African Cricket Association, wrote a letter to the Francis Lacey, the secretary of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in England, suggesting the formation of an Imperial Cricket Board. Bailey suggested that the board would be responsible for the formulation of rules and regulations for international cricket matches between Australia, England, and South Africa. He further offered to host a triangular Test series amongst the teams in South Africa. Though, the Australian Cricket Board rejected the initial terms, Bailey lobbied for the same during the Australia's tour of England in 1909.

On 15 June 1909, representatives from the Australian Cricket Board, England and Wales Cricket Board, and South African Cricket Association met at Lord's and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. A month later, a second meeting between the three members was held. The rules were agreed upon amongst the nations, and the first-ever tri-Test series was decided to be held in England in 1912. In 1926, West Indies, New Zealand, and India were elected as full members, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. Pakistan was inducted in 1952, becoming the seventh Test-playing nation. In May 1961, South Africa left the British Commonwealth and therefore lost the membership.

International Cricket Conference (1964–1988)

In 1964, the name was changed to International Cricket Conference (ICC), and the ICC agreed to include non-Test playing countries as associate members. The Ceylon (who later became Sri Lanka), Fiji, and the United States were admitted as the first associate members. In 1968, Bermuda, Denmark, East Africa, and Netherlands were admitted as associates, while South Africa was still not part of the ICC. In 1969, the basic rules of the ICC were amended. At the ICC meeting in 1971, the idea of organizing a Cricket World Cup was floated, and in 1973, it was decided that the first World Cup would be played in 1975 in England. The six Test-playing nations– Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and West Indies along with East Africa and Sri Lanka were invited to take part in the 1975 Cricket World Cup.

New associate members were subsequently added to the ICC in the 1970s, including Israel and Singapore in 1974, West Africa in 1976, Bangladesh in 1977, and Papua New Guinea in 1978. While South Africa applied to rejoin, its application was rejected. In 1981, Sri Lanka was promoted to a full member, and played its first Test in 1982. In 1984, a third class of membership was introduced, and Italy became the first affiliate member, followed by Switzerland in 1985. In 1987, the Bahamas and France were admitted, followed by Nepal in 1988.

International Cricket Council (1989–present)

In July 1989, the ICC was renamed as the International Cricket Council. The practice of the MCC president automatically serving as the president of the ICC was abolished, and Colin Cowdrey became the first independent president of the ICC. In 1990, the UAE joined as an associate member. In 1991, the ICC meeting was held in Melbourne, the first time it was held outside of England. South Africa was re-elected as a full member of the ICC in July, following the end of apartheid. In 1992, Zimbabwe was admitted as the ninth full member. Later, Namibia joined as an associate member, and Austria, Belgium, Brunei and Spain joined as affiliates. The third umpire, who was equipped with video playback facilities, was introduced in 1992.

In 1993, the position of chief executive was created, and David Richards of the Australian Cricket Board was appointed to the position. In July, Clyde Walcott was elected as the first non-British chairman. By 1995, television replays were made available for run-outs and stumpings in Test matches, with the third umpire required to signal out or not out with red and green lights respectively. The following year, cameras were used for the first time to determine if the ball had crossed the boundary. In 1997, decisions on the cleanness of catches could be referred to the third umpire, and the Duckworth-Lewis method, a way of adjusting targets in rain-affected ODI matches, was introduced.

In 2000, Bangladesh was admitted as the tenth full member. In 2005, the ICC moved its new headquarters to Dubai. In 2014, the position of chairman was created, who would heads the board of directors, thereby reducing the powers of the president. On 26 June, N. Srinivasan was announced as the first chairman of the council. However, following the tenure of Zaheer Abbas, the post of president was abolished in April 2016, and Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan in October 2015, became the first independent elected chairman of the ICC. With the role change, the Chief Executive Officer was to oversee sustenance of various cricket formats, promoting Olympic inclusion, and expanding global engagement.

In 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland were admitted as the eleventh and twelfth full members. The affiliate membership system was also abolished, with all existing affiliate members becoming associate members. In 2018, all Women's T20I matches between member teams were elevated to Women's Twenty20 International status. In 2019, all Men's T20I matches were elevated to International status. In July 2022, Cambodia, Cote D'Ivoire, and Uzbekistan were granted associate member status by the ICC.

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