ICC Working Group to decide LA28 pathway and format restructuring

ICC MEETING

ICC Working Group to decide LA28 pathway and format restructuring

by Vijay Tagore • Last updated on

LA28 has allowed only six men and women cricket teams to participate in the Quadrennial Games © Getty

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to form a Working Group to address several pressing global issues, including the structure of various formats of the game and the qualification pathway for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It was also confirmed that the minimum age for participation in senior international cricket will remain at 15, with provisions to review the cut-off year in exceptional cases.

These were among the key takeaways of the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meeting held in Singapore on Friday (July 18). The central point from the meeting is to hasten the formation of the long-pending Working Group which could take place as early as Saturday when the ICC Board will meet.

Comprising members from both the CEC and the Board, the group will be given terms of reference, the key point of which will be to recommend a qualification method for the LA28 Olympics. The majority view across ICC circles and influential stakeholders is believed to be to apply rankings to identify the teams for the games, but the Jay Shah-led ICC has decided to leave the matter to the Working Group.

There have been suggestions in some quarters to stage a qualifying tournament. However, given the time constraints and a packed Future Tours Programme (FTP), such a proposition is seen as difficult to pull off. However, the ICC will ask the Group to assess the merits of all possible options. Should the group recommend qualification based on rankings, it will also be required to propose a suitable cut-off date for those rankings. LA28 has allowed only six men and women teams to participate in the Quadrennial Games.

The much-debated proposal of a two-tier Test structure was not at all taken up by the CEC on Friday, but it is presumed that the Working Group will be tasked with recommending whether an overhaul of the longest format is needed at all. Similarly, the group is also expected to suggest changes, if need be, to the restructuring of the other two formats - ODIs and T20Is.

The meeting, chaired by new CEO Sanjog Gupta, confirmed that the minimum age for international players will remain 15, as previously recommended by the ICC's Medical Advisory Committee. However, the CEC agreed that concessions can be granted in exceptional circumstances. The committee also decided to float tenders for mobile gaming rights.

ICC Chair Shah, in his capacity as an ex-officio member, was also present.

Decision on USA cricket on Saturday

Meanwhile, it is understood that the Board will decide on the fate of USA Cricket (USAC). The normalisation committee, which visited the US recently, has asked the USAC to resign but there is believed to be some resistance from the USAC members. Given that the Olympics are round the corner in the States, the decision on USAC will be extremely significant.

Click here to read article