New Zealand’s Greg Barclay became the new chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday over four months after Shashank Manohar stepped down.In the interim, ICC was headed by acting chairman Imran Khwaja.
The dispute over the election process added to the delay in getting a new chairman before Barclay, backed by India, Australia, and England – the big three of cricket – beat Khwaja 11-5.To win, Barclay needed votes from two-thirds of the 16-member ICC board.
The ICC board has 12 full Test nations – Barclay is the representative of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on the board, a position he will now relinquish – three associate countries and one independent female director, Indra Nooyi, formerly CEO of PepsiCo.The 17th member, ICC CEO Manu Sawhney, does not have a vote.
Two rounds of voting were needed before Barclay, a commercial lawyer by training, was declared the winner.In the first round last week, Barclay got 10 votes to Khwaja’s six necessitating a fresh round because neither candidate had won at least two-thirds or 11 votes.
Khwaja, formerly of the Singapore Cricket Association, would have been elevated to the chairman’s post had Barclay not found the 11th vote.That changed when embattled Cricket South Africa (CSA) pitched for Barclay.
