New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) held its Annual Conference in Singapore, where the Board confirmed the awarding of hosting rights for the ICC World Test Championship Finals for the 2027, 2029, and 2031 editions to the England and Wales Cricket Board, following a successful track record in hosting recent finals.

The ICC also received an update on progress relating to the support for displaced women cricketers of Afghan descent. This initiative is being advanced through a collaborative effort led by the ICC, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the ECB, and Cricket Australia (CA), under the supervision of ICC Deputy Chair Imran Khwaja.

The programme aims to deliver structured support through high-performance initiatives, domestic playing opportunities, and engagement at key ICC global events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England.

About USA Cricket, the ICC reiterated its previous position and confirmed that the organisation remains on notice. USA Cricket is required to undertake comprehensive governance reforms, including but not limited to completing free and fair elections within a three-month period.

The meeting also saw, Gurumurthy Palani (France Cricket), Anuraag Bhatnagar (Cricket Hong Kong, China), and Gurdeep Klair (Cricket Canada) elected to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) as Associate Member representatives and a formal votes of thanks was recorded to outgoing ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice, and to departing CEC members Sumod Damodar (Botswana Cricket Association), Rashpal Bajwa (Cricket Canada), and Umair Butt (Cricket Denmark), for their service to the global game.

Two new members joined the ICC family to take the total membership to 110 members, with the Timor-Leste Cricket Federation and Zambia Cricket Union formally becoming ICC Associate members.

The ICC AGM also formally adopted the annual report and audited accounts of the ICC Group for the year 2024, together with the auditor’s report.

–IANS

aaa/bsk/