Scrap rotation policy for ICC presidents: Bacher

Veteran cricket administrator Dr Ali Bacher has come out in support of International Cricket Council's (ICC) plans to scrap the rotation policy in appointment of its presidents following Alan Isaac's (New Zealand) term in 2015. It is learnt that ICC will make the announcement during its annual general meeting on June 28 in Hong Kong.

"I am supporting ICC in this move. We are talking about democracy and want the best people at the helm of world cricket. One shouldn't worry about where they come from. We want the best person to direct and drive world cricket," Bacher told MiD DAY.

It was the decision of South Africa and Zimbabwe to abstain from the voting process in 1996-97 that led to the introduction of the rotation policy. "There was a stalemate between Jagmohan Dalmiya (India) and Malcolm Gray (Australia) appearing for the post. There was a huge division in world cricket. What happened at the election was that we got Zimbabwe's support, and abstained from the voting process.

"By us abstaining, constitutionally, there wasn't a vote for either candidate. And thus, the policy was introduced for the first time in 1997. There was a lot of animosity on whether either candidate would bring unity in world cricket. We were all very worried. The Australians were very unhappy that we didn't support them," he said.

Bacher recalled the time when he represented SA in the ICC Board. "India and Australia were creating blocks in world cricket, it felt like America and Russia post World War II.u00a0 I told Dalmiya that I wouldn't join a block. We were constantly urged to, but I wasn't party to it. Not to say we didn't have friends in the subcontinent. We just didn't want to take sides with either block," said South Africa's last captain before apartheid led to the country's cricketing exile from 1970 to 1991.

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