Cricket

Neil Speight – Financial Wizard Defending ICC Associate Members

Neil Speight is by profession a highly qualified Finance Manager & Chartered Accountant and probably the most talented person in cricketing areas, providing suitable and ideal financial advisory services for the benefit of ICC Associate members as an Associate member Director in the Board of Directors of International Cricket Council. Though one of the longest serving AM Director of ICC but still young at age with deep-rooted focus on the gradual up-grading of Associate Member financial needs and requirements, perhaps his genius trend was exposed at the age of 20 when Neil completed his BSc (Hons) in Mathematics at the tender age of 20. 

 

Numbers do not lie, even to the silent scribes. 

 

There can not be any arguments against facts even for, as latest as post COVID 19 pandemic era when all global sports bodies are tired of financial permutation and combination on sustainability for its less privileged members,  ICC management with full collaboration & guidance from Board overcame the obstacles for ICC Associate members funding with magnificent strokes for different categories strictly on meritocracy within the excellent balanced distribution of funding and its growing»»»», obviously Neil Speight was and is one of the fundamental instrument for such policies. 

 

In 2008, in the first ever ICC Annual Conference at Westin Mina Seyahi, merely nine months old newly constructed Hotel in Dubai, turned the 1st page with a great leap towards unprecedented ICC Associate Members for ICC Board election by electing a very young Neil Speight. Those days all 36 ICC Associate members by status-quo rights could vote and only 5 Affiliate members as representative of 59 ICC Affiliate members (not permitted to attend) had right to vote, and those days just being an Associate member, the member country was entitled to a fixed amount of around $177,000 USD per annum as an Associate member Grant while 59 Affiliate members were given around $1,500 USD equivalent grant in equipment per annum.

 

Interestingly first stone was thrown by the new group of AM Elected ICC Board members during the period of 2008-2009 to uplift financially around 56% of ICC Members, those are financially hapless Affiliates, on the basis of playing and development achievements. Neil Speight was one of the leaders to negotiate with ICC Management and Board on new scheme and gradual evolution of the economic and financial project based on development and meritocracy, saw ultimately, abolishing of membership differences between Affiliates and Associates through ICC Constitutional changes on 22nd June, 2017.

 

Of course, Imran Khwaja with supersonic legal mind was the principal uncontested leader of the team and considered as the architect of New Vision of ICC for its Associate members based on exclusive Meritocracy. Today in 2024, fourteen 2008 Affiliate member countries are enjoying the higher financial status within top 40 Associate member Countries with voting rights by sheer merits and rest are having a minimum of 1,600% more what 56% of 2008 ICC Affiliate members used to receive as financial grant directly or indirectly. 

 

Let us observe the panorama and analyze the post pandemic funding growth for ICC Associate members by numbers i.e. just last 2 financial uplifting for ICC Associate Members:

 

A) In 2022 & 2023 minimum annual allotments to members of Scorecard grant on meritocracy scale was $18,000 USD p.a. whereas the top-ranking Associate members on meritocracy achievement scale received up to $620,000 USD p.a. without any reduction due to pandemic effects.

 

B) In 2024 minimum annual allotments to members of Scorecard grant on meritocracy scale was $24, 000 USD p.a. whereas the top-ranking Associate members on meritocracy achievement scale receiving up to $1,000,000 USD p.a.

 

C) In 2022 & 2023 Competition grant was $10,965,000 USD to 57 members out of which 48 for male teams and only 9 for female team achievements of member countries. 

 

D) In 2024 Competition grant is $20,909,000 USD to 60 member countries for male team's achievements and 54 member countries for female team’s achievements.

 

Wizard Neil Speight under strong leadership of Imran Khwaja what did and doing for the Associate members since 2008 are near impossible things to fathom, probably none of Cricket Critics or Gurus could imagined in their wildest dreams that such glorious days are achievable for majority of ICC members where the typical depreciative "MINNOWS" aimed at Associates are gradually disappearing fast.  

 

Today Cricket success is not just out of a team sport but a product for Globalization of Massification through sustainability against all myths & odds which are busted with tremendous experience, knowledge and wisdoms of a like minded team representing Associates in the Global arena under the same roof of ICC Board of Directors.