At the November ICC board meeting in Dubai, the rules for the 2015 World Cup were ratified.
‘There are some exciting things happening’, ICC Chairman Srinivasan said.
Firstly, we are increasing the prize money for the winner to $4 million. This should be a great incentive for the West Indies. If they win, they can pay back some of their debt to me… I mean to India.
When pressed further on whether $4 million was not enough of a share, given how much money the tournament will generate, ICC CEO David Richardson quipped:
Go away little man
Rules regarding tied matches were also ratified
There will be no Super Overs. This is a health and safety issue. A tied match will have pensioners on the cusp of collapse with excitement. A Super Over will be sure to cause some deaths.
We have also decided that we will have a reserve day for the final. However, it will only be used if needed due to a wash out or the MCG lights fail. It would be unfair to those that bought a $450 ticket to not be able to see a match.
Should the final end in a tie, then the guy that spent $450 on his ticket would have seen a match. There will be no need to replay it. The World Cup will be shared.
When asked whether he believed this decision made sense, Richardson added:
Having multiple winners is a utopian outcome. The last time a final ended in a tie at the MCG was the AFL Grand Final in 2010. Everyone had to come back the following week and play again. We can’t have that. There is a T20 tournament that the players need to get to.
Qualification criteria for the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales was also discussed.
The top 8 ranked ODI teams will automatically qualify. So too will England as the host. It is only a 10 team tournament, so the other 182 nations will be vying for that final spot. How exciting is that!
When asked why the World Cup wasn’t expanded to more teams to help grow the game, ICC President Srinivasan said:
If the ICC’s charter was to protect and grow the game, then cricket, as the world’s 2nd most popular sport would be played at the Olympics. However, our charter is simply to make money for India, Australia and the UK. We haven’t got time to waste time with minnows like China or the USA.
Finally, the ICC also discussed changes to their policy of dealing with players banned for match fixing.
We have decided to let them come back early and play at a domestic level. This is important as Pakistan is short on fast bowlers. Also, Auckland reckon they can get Lou Vincent rather cheaply. It is in line with ICC values to assist the lower levels where possible.
2017 World Cup in Bangladesh or 2019 World Cup in England?
I don’t know. I’m not even sure that the ICC know.