2009 Champions Trophy date finalised

The ICC will hold the postponed Champions Trophy between September 24 and October 5, 2009, it was decided during the second day of its board meeting in Dubai. The announcement ends months of uncertainty about the event which was originally scheduled for September this year in Pakistan but was postponed after several participating countries refused to travel over security fears in the country.

The new dates were formalised after detailed discussions between Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and officials of various national boards, many of whom will have now have to adjust their international programme to accommodate the event. The ICC, too, has had to make an adjustment of its own to accommodate the event, shortening its duration from the original 17 days to 12, including a reserve day for the final.

The ICC also said the event will be held in one city, possibly to ensure foolproof security arrangements, though Pakistan's fate as host will be decided only after a review following India's tour of the country in early 2009. Lahore and Karachi were the original venues. David Morgan, the ICC president, welcomed the decision to find a place for the tournament despite an increasingly packed Future Tours Program (FTP) and Lorgat thanked the participating countries for their cooperation. "I'm hugely encouraged by the spirit of togetherness and teamwork shown by our members in ensuring we have found a place for the Champions Trophy in next year's calendar," Lorgat said.

The ICC board's decision means the BCCI, which had originally refused to adjust its international programme to allow the postponed event, will have to reschedule the second edition of the Twenty20 Champions League, which had originally been slotted for September 25-October 10. India has also tentatively scheduled a seven-ODI home series against Australia to start from October 13 next year.

N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary, said that "there will be no clash of dates". "The new programme takes into account a provision for the Champions League also," Srinivasan told Cricinfo.

According to Lorgat, for whom the result of today's decision is an achievement of sorts considering the initial opposition to the new window, the tournament needed to be held as it is "vitally important for the world game".

The Champions Trophy is expected to rake in around USD 40 million, most of which will be redeployed for the development of the game. "The tournament, with its new format of the top eight teams playing in a short, sharp event, is vitally important for the world game because it allows those members, as well as the developing cricket world, to grow the sport," Lorgat said.

SLC-BCCI deal 'quite unacceptable' - Morgan

David Morgan, the ICC president, has said the US$70 million proposal between Sri Lanka Cricket and IPL chairman Lalit Modi is "quite unacceptable behaviour against the background of Sri Lanka's signed agreement with the ECB".

The Daily Telegraph has quoted Morgan condemning the deal, which, if ratified by the BCCI, would force the abandonment of Sri Lanka's Test series in England in May 2009. According to the report, Morgan pointed out that only last month the ICC reaffirmed the primacy of Test cricket with the unanimous agreement of all Full Members.

Sri Lanka's tour is due to run from April 21 to May 30, while the IPL is scheduled for April 10-May 25. The series clashes with the latter stages of the IPL's second season, and a number of the Sri Lankan squad - such as captain Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara - have signed lucrative contracts to play in the IPL.

Sri Lanka's sports minister, Gamini Lokuge, asked the board to release players for the IPL, indicating that Sri Lanka could be forced to field a second-string side to England. In September, Arjuna Ranatunga, the interim committee chief of SLC, insisted the tour would go ahead. "We have a memorandum of understanding with the England and Wales Cricket Board for the tour and we must honour that," he said.

Sri Lanka's one-day tour of Pakistan was cancelled in April-May this year because the dates clashed with the IPL's inaugural tournament.

Pakistan's fate in the balance

Just 20 days after it managed to strike a delicate balance over the Zimbabwe crisis, the ICC will once again be walking the tightrope over a teleconference spanning continents which starts at 10.30 GMT on Thursday - and this time, its executive board will hope to arrive at a consensus among the eight participating nations on the issue of staging the Champions Trophy in Pakistan this September.

As in the Zimbabwe crisis, which was resolved during the ICC annual conference in Dubai early this month with the country retaining its full membership while pulling out of the ICC World Twenty20 in England, the ICC hopes that a consensus decision will ensure that the tournament goes ahead as scheduled at the original venue or in Sri Lanka, the alternate venue.

However, once again, strong opinions have emerged on either side of this issue. Players from England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa have expressed serious concerns over the prevailing security climate in Pakistan, and their representatives have warned of a pullout if the tournament goes ahead in that country. They seem to have the strong backing of their respective boards, too, except for Cricket South Africa (CSA) which seems to be of the view that Pakistan needs to be given "every opportunity to host the tournament to the best of their ability".

On the other side, India is leading the group of Asian countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the hosts, who are determined that the event needs to go ahead as scheduled. They believe that the security briefing last Sunday by the ICC for officials of the eight participating nations, broadcast executives and players' representatives, has not pointed to any specific threat and has been "positive" about Pakistan's status.

"The Indian board sees 'no harm' in Pakistan hosting the tournament as scheduled," Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, told Cricinfo. "We are supporting Pakistan as the venue of the Champions Trophy. Our Indian team had taken part in the Asia Cup without any incident. Besides, the report of the ICC's security consultants, which was presented during the briefing in Dubai (on Sunday) was positive. So the BCCI sees no harm in Pakistan hosting the tournament."

In fact, a few hours before Thursday's teleconference, when asked whether the tournament would go ahead as scheduled in Pakistan, a senior BCCI official shot back: "Why not?"

It's understood though that if there is stiff opposition to playing in Pakistan, especially from England, Australia and New Zealand, and the ICC reiterates its inability to provide any safety guarantees, the Indian board may suggest that the tournament be shifted to Sri Lanka, the alternate venue. Besides ensuring that the tournament stays in Asia - South Africa or England are being touted as the preferred alternatives by those who are hesitant to play in Pakistan - Indian officials believe that the current security climate in Sri Lanka, where India is playing a Test series, is peaceful and conducive for hosting the tournament.

Duleep Mendis, the chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket, had told Cricinfo earlier this week that his country was "very confident" of hosting the event if it was moved out of Pakistan. "We are confident that we can hold the tournament within the short span of time if it's not possible to hold it in Pakistan," Mendis said. "We had confirmed our name as alternate hosts some time back and we stand by that. We are prepared logistically and on the security front and are very confident about hosting the tournament, if it comes to us."

Another option that may be discussed during Thursday's teleconference is postponing the event, even though Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, has said, "We are trying our best to hold the tournament as per schedule and hope that it is not postponed."

As of now though, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are learnt to be firmly behind Pakistan, the official host, which also appears to have gained the unexpected support of Norman Arendse, the CSA president.

"We must give Pakistan every opportunity to host the tournament to the best of their ability," Arendse told Independent Online. "I'm inclined to support Pakistan's hosting of the tournament. I know it might sound easy for us as administrators to make such decisions as we stay home while the players go to Pakistan, but I assure you it is not so."

Yet, officials on either side of the issue, and especially the ICC, realise that the executive board will have to seriously consider the threat of a pullout by top cricketers from England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, which would end up diluting the tournament's value and severely denting its credibility.

Speaking to Cricinfo, Tony Irish, the chief executive of the South Africa Cricketers Association (SACA), said that there was a possibility of top players from his country pulling out if the tournament went ahead as scheduled (from September 11) in Pakistan. "I can't confirm this, but yes, there could be some players pulling out," he said.

Irish said that the players reiterated their concern at touring Pakistan after the SACA reported back to them on the ICC's security briefing in Dubai, which Irish attended. At the meeting, the players' representatives were told that the governing body or the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) couldn't give any foolproof security guarantees. "We have serious concerns with the security situation in Pakistan, especially after the briefing in Dubai," Irish said. This view has found a loud echo in England, Australia and New Zealand.

Against this backdrop, it's understood that the ICC board, while taking a final call on Pakistan, will also consider a report on the security briefing conducted by the ICC last Sunday. However, the report does not contain any specific recommendation - either way.

ICC concerned over threat of match-fixing in IPL

The International Cricket Council has concerns over the threat of match-fixing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), ICC general manager Dave Richardson has said.

"We are concerned," Richardson told the Indian news channel NDTV. "Let's face it, the IPL is the first domestic competition to attract such huge interest and, when it does, it's going to inevitably attract the interest of match-fixers and people like that.

"And because of the interest created there is no doubt that we would be concerned if the BCCI neglected that part of the game and didn't make sure that they had very strict measures in place to ensure it doesn't take a foothold in the IPL or any other domestic competition for that matter.

"There is certainly no criticism intended on IPL or the BCCI. It's just a fact of life that there is a lot of betting going on in cricket. And because there's so much money passing hands, inevitably the temptations are going to be there to try and get the players involved.

"And for the first time, a domestic competition is attracting this interest and you've got players who don't necessarily go through the ICC education process. And so you have young players who could be open to temptation or open to being approached by these corrupt people."

The ICC's anti-corruption chief Paul Condon had warned earlier this month that the BCCI-backed IPL posed the biggest threat to cricket's integrity since the match-fixing scandal of the 1990s. "The IPL brings with it the biggest threat of corruption in the game since the days of cricket in Sharjah," he reportedly said at a board meeting of the ICC.

Reacting to Condon's comments, Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, had told PTI: "The Indian Premier League is a huge event with lots of money involved. We are keen to ensure that it remains corruption-free and have taken and will be taking measures to this effect."