The move received the unanimous backing of the ICC Board following the conclusion of a two-day meeting in Dubai on Wednesday. The president’s position is set to be transformed into an ambassadorial role appointed on a one-year rotational basis. The elected chairman will have the power to lead the board. “The presidential role is one that will be filled on a rotational basis by every one of the members and the best man will be elected to lead the board (as chairman),” ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, according to Reuters. The necessary amendments to ICC regulations will be discussed at the next board meeting before being submitted for approval at the annual conference in June. The change is set to be implemented in 2014 and Lorgat has denied the move will increase the influence of cricket’s financial powerhouses such as India and England. “There's every chance it could be the case (that the chairman could come from within the current board) but there's every chance it could come from outside,” he said. “There will be a nominations committee that will determine a process to elect the best man for the job.”
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New Zealand’s Alan Isaac is set to succeed India’s Sharad Pawar as president for a two-year term in June and has defended the proposed new structure. He said: “It is a normal model in New Zealand where you have a ceremonial president that rotates more quickly and a chairman's role, focused on governance, who may well be in place for a longer or shorter time.” In other news, the ICC has made further efforts to promote Test cricket in the face of the rise of the Twenty20 format of the sport by revealing a significantly increased prize fund. A total of US$3.8 million in prize money will be shared among the top four sides on April 1 each year from 2013 until 2015. Previously, the top team in the ICC Test rankings received a cheque for $175,000, but in future it will receive a minimum of $450,000 rising to $500,000 in 2015. From 2016 there will be further increases in Test prize money. Lorgat added: “This worthy increase in prize money for the top four teams in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings can only be right. We must continue to promote the pinnacle form of the game before and beyond the Test Championship in 2017.” The initiative has been introduced to promote Test match cricket in the period before the ICC Test Championship event is scheduled to begin in 2017. Lorgat was keen to introduce the Championship in 2013, and the inaugural event was slated to take place in England. However, a lack of support in the venture from the ICC’s main broadcast partner, ESPN Star Sports, scuppered plans.