New ICC finance model breaks up Big Three

Battles over the ICC events financial model have been drawn out over a period of years, starting with the ascension of Shashank Manohar as the governing body's chairman

It started with money, and it has ended with money. The "Big Three" financial model drawn up by the boards of India, England and Australia unveiled amid much consternation three years ago is no more, replaced by a plan to vastly reduce the BCCI's share of ICC revenue and offer identical amounts to seven of the game's Full Member nations.

After a week of intense negotiations that saw the BCCI's opposition to change outmaneuvered by the collective will of the rest, the amount of ICC revenue to be handed out to each nation is now as follows. The BCCI will receive US$293m across the eight-year cycle, the ECB US$143m, Zimbabwe Cricket US$94m and the remaining seven Full Members US$132m each. Associate Members will receive total funding of US$280m.

While this distribution is not a complete rollback to the equal funding from ICC events that Full Members used to receive, it is a considerable distance from the US$440 million the BCCI stood to earn under the Big Three model. The distribution to the ECB has reduced marginally from around $US150 million, while Cricket Australia's share is similar to what it previously received, albeit now in line with those afforded to South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and West Indies. These changes were passed by 14 votes to one, with the BCCI the sole dissenter.

Battles over the ICC events financial model have been drawn out over a period of years, starting with the ascension of Shashank Manohar as the governing body's chairman following the exit of his predecessor and rival N Srinivasan, widely considered the Big Three's chief architect. Manohar stunned the cricket world by stating his intent to resign earlier this year, but was cajoled into staying on until the ICC annual conference in June, where the above changes are set to be ratified.

"This is another step forward for world cricket and I look forward to concluding the work at the Annual Conference," Manohar stated in an ICC release. "I am confident we can provide a strong foundation for the sport to grow and improve globally in the future through the adoption of the revised financial model and governance structure."

The governance structure of which Manohar spoke was the other major outcome from this week's round of meetings in Dubai. The ICC's constitution is to be extensively redrawn, with numerous changes to the way the global game is run and the way that the performance and eligibility of member nations are assessed. These constitutional changes, which were passed by 12 votes to two, include:

• Opening a pathway to include additional Full Members in the future subject to meeting membership criteria
• Removing the Affiliate level of membership so there are only two levels; Full Member and Associate Member
• Introducing an independent female director to the board
• Introducing membership criteria and forming a Membership Committee to consider membership applications
• Introducing a deputy chairman of the board who will be a sitting director elected by the board to stand in for the chairman in the event that he or she is unable to fulfil their duties
• Equally weighting votes for all board members regardless of membership status
• Entitling all members to attend the Annual General Meeting

At the same time as the financial and governance changes were being debated and ultimately passed, talks continued on greater context for international cricket, via the creation of a Test match Championship and an ODI league. Progress on this front has slowed, partly due to discussions around the impact of windows for domestic Twenty20 tournaments around the world, most recently the competition announced by South Africa.

More promising was an acknowledgement by the BCCI that it will reconsider its longstanding opposition to cricket's inclusion in the Olympics, a move that other members of the ICC Chief Executives Committee are strongly in favour of pursuing. There was also further discussion of efforts to return international cricket to Pakistan after a gap of eight years. The ICC's chief executive David Richardson was grateful for the amount of progress made.

"It has been a very productive week," he said. "Progress has been made on a number of significant issues, in particular around international cricket structures. Efforts to find a solution, enhancing the context of international bilateral cricket and retaining the relevance of the international game, will continue."

Reaction to the game's new landscape is likely to be varied, much as the Big Three model resulted in heated discussion around the world. In particular, the world awaits the BCCI's response with interest.

Khalid Latif unhappy with PCB's tribunal

Khalid Latif, through his lawyer, has stated his objections to the composition of the PCB's tribunal

Pakistan batsman Khalid Latif, provisionally suspended for alleged involvement in the PSL spot-fixing scandal, has refused to appear before the PCB's anti-corruption panel, citing concerns about the fairness of the investigation.

Latif's lawyer also objected to the three-man tribunal constituted to the hear the case, in which Latif stands charged of six breaches of the anti-corruption code during the PSL earlier this year.

Latif was issued a fresh notice on April 17 by the PCB, asking him to appear for another interview before its Security and Vigilance Department. He had already been charged with serious breaches of the PCB's anti-corruption code during the PSL in February, and was provisionally suspended for alleged misdemeanours and sent home from the tournament with immediate effect.

He had already challenged those charges and is set to be heard before a three-man tribunal on May 5. The PCB also appear to have found fresh leads in their ongoing investigation in the second edition of PSL.

"We are working on filing an appeal against the constitution of the tribunal which is not made in the line of fairness and natural justice," Latif's lawyer Badar Alam told ESPNcricinfo. "All three members have been associated with the PCB in various capacities and have been beneficiaries from the PCB. Most recently, Wasim Bari was the Pakistan team manager. We protested this and even challenged it in the Lahore High Court but the writ was rejected by the Honourable Court. But before the next hearing we are planning to lodge an appeal to have a stay order against proceedings."

All three members of the tribunal have been closely involved with the PCB in the past. Wasim Bari, as Alam stated, was the Pakistan team manager as recently as Pakistan's New Zealand and Australia tours that concluded in January this year. Lt General Tauqir Zia was the chairman of the PCB until 2003, while Asghar Haider, who completes the tribunal, has served as a legal advisor to the PCB.

The PCB denied that Khalid Latif or his lawyer had raised any objections previously. "They at the preliminary hearing failed to raise any objection to the members of the tribunal. Therefore, now their reaction is solely an afterthought, and clearly an attempt to delay proceedings," the PCB's legal advisor, Taffazul Haider Rizvi, told ESPNcricinfo, "The writ petition filed by them in the Lahore High Court also stands dismissed by the Honourable Court and so now, they are raising frivolous objections to proceedings. As far as the tribunal is concerned, it was formed according to the PCB's Anti- Corruption Code with persons of impeccable repute as its members."

The news about the corruption in PSL broke on the second day of the second edition of the league on April 10. Since then, PCB's senior General Manager Vigilance, Azam Khan, has been following through on the investigation. The letter was written to the PCB chairman by Latif as a response to the second demand notice.

The PCB has been following and implementing an anti-corruption code which is in line with the International Cricket Council's (ICC) code. There are minor changes in various clauses to adjust for Pakistan's unique circumstances, and the ranges of sanctions for wrongdoing are stricter than the ones laid down in the international code.

According to the code, the PCB chairman has the right to appoint a three-man tribunal with any appropriate external lawyers/cricketers/experts as members of the Anti- Corruption Tribunal. The appointed members must be independent of the parties and have had no prior involvement with the case they are arbitrating.

Pakistan call off Bangladesh tour

File photo - Pakistan have visited Bangladesh twice, without being visited in return

Pakistan will not tour Bangladesh this year as per schedule; the PCB said the series has been postponed indefinitely by mutual consent. Pakistan was to play two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I series in Bangladesh in July and August.

"We had spoken about the possibility of hosting them [Bangladesh in Pakistan] this year," PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told ESPNcricinfo. "Pakistan have now toured Bangladesh twice without them reciprocating, and we feel we cannot tour Bangladesh for the third straight time. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the tour, and will explore another window in the next year or so."

Bangladesh last toured Pakistan in 2007-08, for a five-ODI series. Since then, Pakistan have toured Bangladesh twice, in 2011-12 and 2015. The PCB had invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series this year, only for the BCB to rebuff the invitation.

On Pakistan's last visit to Bangladesh in 2015, the PCB had reportedly taken US$ 325,000 and justified it by saying the series had "technically" been Pakistan's home series. This year the BCB rejected all such proposals to share revenue, though it was open to playing at a neutral venue if necessary.

The PCB, however, was not keen on that option. It is understood the Pakistan board feels that hosting teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the UAE - its adopted home - is not financially viable.

Relations between the Pakistan and Bangladesh boards have been sour in the past. During the Zaka Ashraf regime, the PCB had stopped communication with the BCB and barred its cricketers - who had already been auctioned to various teams - from featuring in the Bangladesh Premier League.

Bangladesh were the fourth team - after West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka - to refuse to travel to Pakistan in the last two years. Nevertheless, the PCB is looking to build on hosting an incident-free PSL final in Lahore in March by inviting a team of international cricketers to play a T20 series in September. However, even the PSL final - touted a success - was marred by Quetta Gladiators' entire foreign contingent deciding against travelling to Pakistan for the final.

In another development, members of the ICC board were briefed on the security situation in Pakistan. According to Shaharyar, Giles Clarke, the head of the ICC task force on Pakistan, confirmed that Lahore would host a World XI in September.

"We wanted to share the series between Lahore and Karachi but since the security assessment was focussed on Lahore only, it was decided to restrict the series to Lahore for now," Shaharyar said. "The presentation about the PSL final was well received and all members understand that the World XI tour will further pave the way for major international cricket in the country. They were supportive overall and we are looking forward to host some of the top players of the world."

Misbah thanks team for 'special gift'

Yasir Shah's four wickets late on day four helped Pakistan gallop towards a win

If you had glanced at the weather forecast for Kingston last Friday, you might have been forgiven for wondering if the city had any business hosting a Test match. There was rain expected across all five days, with dry spells in between. When Misbah-ul-Haq looked at it, he knew there was only one plausible path to victory, which his team achieved shortly after lunch on the fifth day.

Misbah himself played no small part. Having contributed 99 not out to stretch the first-innings lead, which eventually proved decisive, he came out to biff two successive sixes to seal the game. Soon after, Misbah said the thought of this being his final series hadn't prevented him from playing without having fun.

Holder disappointed with batting show

Jason Holder, the West Indies captain, felt losing four wickets in the first session on the opening day didn't do them any favours for the rest of the Test.

"We didn't get enough runs in the first innings. Never really got a partnership going. Credit must go to Shane Dowrich and Roston Chase, but unfortunately we couldn't get in excess of 300 runs, which we needed to do.

"Yasir Shah did bowl well in the second innings but we could have batted a lot better. From the position we were in last evening, if was always going to be difficult to come out on the fifth day and try to survive Yasir."

"If you're not enjoying yourself, then there's no point of playing. I'm not the kind of person who would linger on if I wasn't having fun," he said. "These wins are special, and this is one more Test match that the team has given to me as a gift."

While the batsmen's role in giving a first-innings cushion can't be overstated, it was the bowlers who ensured victory was possible despite losing almost all of the second day to rain. "With tricky weather, the idea was to win the toss and bowl first," he said. "We just had one chance to get them out quickly and then play one good innings. Otherwise it wasn't going to be possible.

"We knew that it was going to be tough batting on the fifth day. I think the bowlers did very well. In the first innings (Mohammad) Amir, especially, his spell was crucial. In the second innings, again Amir and especially Yasir's spell was incredible. Getting six wickets this morning in no time was the game changer."

The one worry Pakistan could have is that going in with just one spin bowler risks overworking the faster bowlers. This concern, however, did not manifest itself during the game, with West Indies lasting just 147.4 overs across both innings.

With 19-year old Shadab Khan, who impressed during the limited-overs leg of the series, waiting in the wings, Misbah admitted that playing a second legspinner was a possibility, but said a call would only be taken after assessing the conditions.

"Our combination will depend on the conditions we get, and especially how the pitch looks before the Test match," he said. "This pitch had a lot of moisture and that is why we opted to bowl first and go with three seamers. With our combination, it's difficult, it's difficult to sneak in the fifth bowler, especially since we have six specialist batsmen, so having three fast bowlers and two spinners becomes tricky."