The 2008 was the turning point when for the first time, then "Classless" Non-Voting 3 ICC Associate Member Directors broke the taboo and started the ball rolling, and managed to get a very low profiled, then voiceless Affiliate members, around +56% of total membership, a little voice in ICC membership grants, from zero funding to something. That was the only time the ICC Affiliates and Associates saw 3 of its elected ICC Directors are from Asia, America and Africa. 2 of them were newly elected, ever dynamic, Imran Khwaja from Asia, Neil Speight from America and third person was already experienced Samir Inamdar from Africa.
Today, there are no voiceless Affiliates or classless AM Directors of ICC because all are Associates, ranked by meritocracy, and AM Directors at par with FM directors to vote to the future of ICC Membership, under new 2017 ICC Constitution.
Once again since 2008, world Associate crickets got the honor of The Best 3 wise heads from AAA - Asia, America and Africa as ICC AM Director Cor the forthcoming election.
One is legendary Asian Imran Khwaja, father of modern Cricket of 106 Member Countries. None before him, nor expected anyone after him can be chosen to be the Chairperson (Interim) of ICC and twice elected by majority Full members as the Deputy Chairperson of ICC. If W I S H – epitome dissection is appropriately condensed we get Wisdom, Integrity, Stoutheartedness and Humanness in one man in the cricketing world that is Imran Khwaja. 10-countries Cricket game has transformed into global Cricket of 106 countries. T20I is the direct ranking of all ICC members and Associates are now defeating full members, no more journey for Alice in Wonderland. It’s the reality of height of meritocracy rankings and rewarded accordingly.
It is not secret within ICC management that when Imran argues for the benefit of Associate members, with all data, references, facts and figures in highest decision-making body of the ICC / IBC / IDI, 12 Full Members, 1 independent member and Chairperson take serious cognizance and in most of the cases it is referred for detailed analysis from the management too before the Board takes the final call. There are 4 more candidates from Asia continent and comparing W I S H criteria and recorded deliverance, I do not think any one is even close to Imran Khwaja’s legendary stature and dedicated continuity to change the face of Global Associate members, not just sudden bounds & Leaps of Country represented by candidates, and to bring more uniformity-based meritocracy.
In a healthy process of any democratic organization its good to find all type of candidatures; of some are based on self-proclaimed conviction founded on badly ambition or pride of ignorance. It’s really astonishing to see that some are trying to enact on riding BLM and /or continentalism and even totally unaware of difference among ICC / IBC / IDC functions, and some are even worse, just on camouflaged hidden agenda with undeclared war against the legend, just to remove him.
We understand that it’s a now or never stouthearted spirit of Imran and his team, determined to end the policy of Differentiation of ICC Membership but to bring all under ONE SET OF MEMBERSHIP in collaboration of majority of Board of Directors of ICC.
Second person with similar wisdom and equally long experience is from America, Neil Speight. In the real sporting world, philosophy and fairness are often taken beating to partiality and fallacy. Cricket is also no exception. When near 56% of ICC membership needed to be treated with minimal fairness, roar of objections thundered from none other than certain powerful associate colleague’s fallacy. In the ocean of negativity and unacceptance was the name of the rule, as if they were ready to accept that a Dog is walking on the sea surface is not a magic but it’s because the Dog cannot swim.
Patience, determination to stick to fairness with unconditional support of likeminded colleague Imran and another AM Director Francois Erasmus helped Neil to convince Board from time to time that old Affiliates, and new whole Associates needs fair distribution of Funds for the Development program. The good news is that the ball which took a slight push from Samir, Neil and Imran in 2008 towards the non-full member progress, is now the unstoppable kinetic tidal move on the pathway of development but the bad news is unless philosophy of fairness is continuously imposed with W I S H, the development carriage may derail. Neil Speight, being the long-experienced member for many years of powerful Committees of ICC like Audit Committee, Remuneration committee etc. has created his own aura with other colleagues and management to place and argue the financial matters related gradual policy changes to the benefit of Associate members.
For the knowledge of the readers, AM directors, once elected to be the member of the ICC/IBC/IDI Board of Director, it’s the Chairperson's prerogative in consultation with appropriate entity/persons to place his competent Board members to the powerful respective Committees to carryout policies and to supervise the management to run the Global Governing Body. Neil Speight, is considered by many as the most valuable brain to be the member of extremely important ICC Audit/ Finance Committees.
It's a very interesting coincidence that such tremendous confidence is placed on the able shoulder of Neil Speight, not only by ICC Chairperson but also the senior management, as the invaluable team member of Imran Khwaja.
The third A from AAA combo is a new person from Africa called Rudie Van Vuuren of Namibia. There are 2 more candidates from Africa, one is a Ghost Candidate, fruit of ICC criteria of nomination, does not have any foot print known to majority of African members but seems to be well known to USA Cricket allegedly for certain unpopular reasons.
Another candidate from East Africa is having a nickname as a "Parasite Candidate" by certain European members, may be for conceptual similarity with dark comedy Korean Film called "Parasite" reflecting tendential hogwash by eclipsing the fact of European money and continuous European management behind the Big-Asset which is not the domestic product. Amusingly for many Europeans and Asians the trail of candidate’s ineffectualness to commitments in regional parameter needs brute courage and crude moral to submit candidature to contest people like Imran Khwaja, Neil Speight or Pankaj Khimji and hope that it’s not motivated by wrongly directed BLM sentiments under the hidden agenda of a certain persona of West African populous country.
For rational humanity, silent achievements must speak louder than Goebbel Syndrome but in many cases selective or short memories aid to suck down to suppress the truth to float convenience untruth. Plausibly, Rudie Van Vuuren is the fitting puzzle of the illusion, by miles.
Rudie Van Vuuren's leadership and administrative proficiency made Namibia to setup an example among, not just Africa but Global Associate members, which is a silent thunder of Cricket Explosion. Perhaps Namibia is the only Associate member Country of the world today which won 9 international games against Full Member Countries in last 30 months excluding 19 ODI wins against top ODI ranking AM countries.
The stats are true but seems to be miraculously imaginative for many considering that hardly anybody speaks about the unparallel baggage of Rudie Van Vuuren in Africa, much less in other part of Associate world. There can not be any comparison of Airbus A380 with Dakota DC3 candidates.
Future of Associate Members will be in good hands in the ICC Board if they are represented by:
Imran Khwaja with his international expertise in ICC Constitutional, Legal and Administrative areas for AMs,
Neil Speight with his international expertise in ICC Economical, Financial and Audit areas for AMs
And
Rudie Van Vuuren with proven excellent expertise in Operation and Quality-enhance for AMs of all rankings.
Let the good and unbiased sense prevail.
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