GREG Barclay has been re-elected unopposed as the chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as reported by Cricbuzz on Friday.
At an ICC board meeting in Melbourne yesterday, Barclay’s opponent, Dr Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), withdrew from the contest. Barclay, a former head of New Zealand Cricket (NZC), will now hold his second term for two more years.

Going into the election day there were two contestants with the incumbent heavily favoured to win the face-off. With only a simple majority needed for one to be declared elected, Barclay had the backing of more than a dozen directors in the 17-member board, including the support of the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The BCCI has been represented by secretary Jay Shah.

The general perception in the ICC is that Mukuhlani joining the race was more symbolic than serious. He would have been representing the smaller full members in the Elite ICC board which is largely lopsided with BCCI, ECB and CA, the super rich boards on one side and Ireland, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka on the other side of the spectrum with South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh in the middle.

Commenting on the election, Mukuhlani said: “I would like to congratulate Greg on his re-appointment as ICC Chair, as the continuity his leadership will provide is in the best interests of the sport. I therefore decided to withdraw my candidacy.”

Barclay thanked the fellow ICC directors for their support. “Over the last two years we have made significant strides forward with the launch of our global growth strategy that provides clear direction to build a successful and sustainable future for our sport.

It is an exciting time to be involved in cricket and I look forward to continuing to work closely with our members to strengthen the game in our core markets as well as grow it beyond that, ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket.”

Barclay, an Auckland-based commercial lawyer, was originally appointed as the ICC Chair in November 2020. He was previously the Chair of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and was a director of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015.

JAY SHAH ELECTED HEAD OF F&CA PANEL
In the board meeting, Jay Shah was elected as the head of the powerful Finance and Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee. He replaces Sourav Ganguly in the panel and will take over as its head early next year.

(Cricbuzz)