An Introduction to International Cricket Council (ICC) By Prasanna Moorthy At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

ICC - International Cricket Council is an international governing body for the game of cricket. ICC was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in the year 1909 by representatives from Australia, England and South Africa which was renamed in 1965 as International Cricket Conference and took up the current name ICC in 1989. There are about 101 members, with ten full members who play the official Test matches, 33 Associate Members and 58 Affiliate Members. ICC is fully responsible for the governance and organization of all major international cricket tournaments, such as the Cricket World Cup. ICC also appoints the referees and umpires who participate at all the Test matches sanctioned by ICC such as Twenty20 Internationals and One Day Internationals. ICC promulgates the Code of Conduct that sets professional standards of discipline for all international crickets and also coordinates action against match-fixing and corruption through ACSU - Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

Ray Mali is the acting President of ICC; this was followed due to the death of Percy Sonn on May 27, 2007 after complications due to a surgery. In June 15, 1909 representatives from Australia, South Africa and England met at Lord's and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. The membership was confined to the governing cricket bodies within the Empire of British where Test cricket was played. In 1926, India, West Indies and New Zealand were elected as Full Members, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. After Pakistan’s formation in 1947, it was given the Test status in the year 1953, becoming the 7th Test-playing nation. Due to apartheid, South Africa resigned from the ICC in 1961. Later in 1965, the Imperial Cricket Conference changed its name to International Cricket Conference and new rules were adopted to allow the election of countries outside Commonwealth. This led to expansion of conference with admissions of Associate Members. Associates were each entitled to 1 vote, where as the Foundation and Full Members were entitled to 2 votes on ICC resolutions.

In 1981, Sri Lanka was admitted as a full member, returning the number of Test-playing nations to 7. In 1991, South Africa was re-elected as a full member of ICC, after the end of apartheid; this was followed in 1992 by the inclusion of Zimbabwe as the ninth Test-playing nation. Bangladesh was included as the tenth Test-playing nation in 2000. The ICC has three classes of membership: Full Members, the ten governing bodies of teams which play official Test matches; Associate Members, the 33 governing bodies in countries where cricket is well organized and firmly established but that do not qualify for Full Membership; and Affiliate Members, the 58 governing bodies in countries where the ICC recognizes that cricket is played according to its laws.

Due to apartheid, South Africa resigned from the ICC in 1961. Later in 1965, the Imperial Cricket Conference changed its name to International Cricket Conference and new rules were adopted to allow the election of countries outside Commonwealth. This led to expansion of conference with admissions of Associate Members.The membership was confined to the governing cricket bodies within the Empire of British where Test cricket was played. In 1926, India, West Indies and New Zealand were elected as Full Members, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. After Pakistan’s formation in 1947, it was given the Test status in the year 1953, becoming the 7th Test-playing nation.

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