The ICC chairman Jay Shah has been inducted into a newly instituted World Cricket Connects Advisory Board, an independent group that will discuss the many challenges and opportunities in the sport during a discussion at the Lord’s on June 7 and 8. Former BCCI secretary Shah, regarded as the most influential man in world cricket, had taken over as the ICC chairperson on December 1 last year, and his presence at the ‘World Cricket Connects’ forum is a chance for him to convey his ideas to a wider stage.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the custodian of the laws of cricket, on Tuesday announced that World Cricket Connects, the event to bring together the most prominent thinkers, voices and influencers in the game, will take place once again this year.
“The forum, which proved hugely popular in bringing together influential people from across all aspects of cricket in its inaugural year in 2024, will be held ahead of the ICC World Test Championship Final between South Africa and Australia,” said MCC in release.
The first event saw around 120 leading voices in cricket gather in the Long Room last July. These included representatives from across the game and the industry such as administrators from the ICC’s full and associate nations, leading broadcasters, technology experts, coaches and both current and former international players.
“As the Club evolves the World Cricket Connects concept, the aim is for it to become the leading symposium in the game, facilitating the debate of strategic issues in an independent forum and establishing a consensus on paths to ensure cricket’s future success,” the release stated.
“To achieve this objective, MCC has revealed that a new World Cricket Connects Advisory Board (Connects Board) has been formed. This independent group will shape the annual World Cricket Connects agenda, help facilitate the event’s discussions and in turn maximise the opportunity for genuine impact on the health of the game.” The Connects Board replaces the MCC World Cricket committee, and many of the areas of the global game which were debated and influenced as part of its remit will now be included and discussed by the Connects Board.
The committee was established in 2006 as an independent body and completed a range of important work across the game’s topics, including day/night Tests, the World Test Championship, speeding up the pace of play, cricket in multi-format sports events such as the Olympics, and stronger anti-corruption deterrents.
The Connects Board will work closely with the World Cricket Connects working group, which is led by Chair of MCC, Mark Nicholas.
“Firstly, we are delighted to be bringing World Cricket Connects back to Lord’s in 2025, ahead of an immense meeting between South Africa and Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final.
“We are looking forward to welcoming many of the game’s most influential figures to debate the most important topics that dominate global cricket,” Nicholas said.
“In planning the second event, an important step has been made in the forming of the World Cricket Connects Advisory Board. We have assembled an impressive group of the best minds in cricket across several different areas relevant to our sport.
“I am delighted to be working with this experienced group and excited about what we can collectively achieve for the benefit of the global game,” he added.
MCC said the following names have accepted invitations to join the board: Kumar Sangakkara (Chair – Former Sri Lanka captain and former President of MCC) Anurag Dahiya (Chief Commercial Officer at ICC) Chris Dehring (CEO at West Indies Cricket) Sourav Ganguly (Former India captain and former President of BCCI) Sanjog Gupta (CEO- Sports, JioStar) Mel Jones (Former Australia international and current broadcaster) Heather Knight (England captain) Trudy Lindblade (CEO at Cricket Scotland) Heath Mills (Executive Chair at World Cricketers’ Association) Imtiaz Patel (Former Chair of SuperSport, MultiChoice and DStv) Jay Shah (Chair of ICC) Graeme Smith (Former South Africa captain and League Commissioner at SA20) Andrew Strauss (Former England captain and former Director of Cricket at ECB).
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