Zambia set to be given ICC warning for Noncompliance with finance statute 5.3

Five Associate and Affiliate members are set to be given formal warnings at the ICC Annual Conference in Melbourne, and will be given one more year to get their affairs in order or face suspension. The members include Associate nations Nepal, USA and Zambia, as well as Affiliates Mali and Morocco. Three other members – Brunei, Tonga and Turkey – are at risk of suspension or complete removal from the ICC with a decision to be taken at the meetings on June 24.

According to an ICC document, seen by ESPNcricinfo, Nepal has fallen foul of administration statute 2.1, which relates to having a full-time paid administrator. They are presently advertising two positions for a chief executive and finance manager, with applications being accepted through June 20.

USA has been listed for being in violation of governance statute 3.1, which states that members must satisfy that they have a sole recognised governing body in the country. Zambia is listed for not being compliant with finance statute 5.3, which says members must demonstrate they have generated revenue independent of the ICC that is in excess of US $25,000 or 10% of their funding from the ICC, whichever is higher.

Mali is listed for being non-compliant under the same finance statute as Zambia, but since they are an Affiliate, the independent revenue requirement is US $2500, which they have allegedly not been able to generate. Morocco has been charged with being non-compliant on four different statutes related to development planning, being the sole governing body in their country, having an approved constitution and being able to submit an annual budget of expenditures to the ICC on a yearly basis.

Tonga was suspended at the 2013 ICC Annual Conference for not having a full-time paid administrator while Turkey was suspended for not being able to demonstrate they have a sole recognised governing body in their country and a failure to submit an approved budget to the ICC. If their administrative and governance issues are not resolved, both countries face the prospect of being expelled at next week’s meeting. Brunei, who was put on notice in 2013 for being non-compliant on seven statutes, faces suspension at next week’s meeting.

Despite a year of unprecedented success on the field, including victories over Hong Kong and Afghanistan at the World T20, Nepal has gone through some turmoil off the field in recent times with a player boycott of the national one-day tournament called off at the last minute following comments made by the captain Paras Khadka slamming the Cricket Association of Nepal for their treatment of players. Last month, members of CAN filed a no-confidence motion against president Tanka Angbuhang Limbu. Most recently, national coach Pubudu Dassanayake left the country on June 4 due to unresolved contractual issues.

As for USA, the decision to put them on notice came after a prolonged period of competing governing bodies jostling for control. The 2012 USA Cricket Association general elections were mired in controversy, when 32 out of 47 member leagues were disenfranchised. Following the election, a number of leagues broke away to form the American Cricket Federation. The ACF held its first national championship in 2012 and was staging events throughout 2013. Jamie Harrison was appointed as the ACF’s first chief executive last September, further demonstrating the body’s ambitions.

Yet, despite two years of ACF’s existence as a governing body to rival USACA’s authority, next week will be the first instance in recent times that a motion will be tabled to put the USA on notice for not having a sole recognised governing body. USA was previously suspended in 2005 and 2007 for administrative and governance issues before being readmitted.