A day after the International Cricket Council (ICC) called for a review of the delivery of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, it is understood that the three-member committee involving Roger Twose, Lawson Naidoo and Imran Khwaja have been given a free hand to conduct a thorough investigation.
The members of the ICC, who have voted unanimously in favour of this investigation, believe that the T20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies was marred with financial mismanagement.
Last week, two senior employees at ICC — events head Chris Tetley and marketing and communications head Claire Furlong — resigned from the global cricket body after lengthy stints.
Top ICC sources revealed that there is a possibility of the committee appointing an external company for a thorough forensic audit.
“It was unanimously decided to give the committee a free hand to conduct the review. There is a bright possibility of an external company conducting a thorough forensic audit of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Every detail will be looked into and every transaction will be thoroughly checked," says an official aware of developments.
A four-day Annual Conference of the ICC, featuring meetings of the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) and the Finance & Commercial Affairs Committee, concluded in Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Monday.
Members of the ICC are of the clear view that should the investigations reveal any financial mismanagement, ultimately the chair of the ICC, Greg Barclay, and CEO Geoff Allardice will also have to step down.
It is further learnt that the roles of Tetley and Furlong will be closely monitored and the committee has been given complete authority to decide whether there is a need to restrict their workplace access with immediate effect or place them under suspension pending investigation.
“Two ICC employees have already submitted their resignations but the committee will look into their roles during the World Cup. The committee will be given a free hand to decide whether there is a need to place them on suspension or restrict access to work. The idea is to not have any sort of hindrance or roadblocks during the thorough investigation," adds the official.
Apart from the review of the T20 World Cup, there is a strong possibility of another cultural review of the global cricket body. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) UK had been commissioned to conduct a cultural review of the ICC back in 2021 and the findings, which were shared only with ICC Board members and the chairman’s office, during that time, resulted in the sacking of CEO Manu Sawhney.
However, shrouded in mystery, the report — which many members believe was grossly one-sided and unfair to Sawhney — went missing and has never been accessed by anyone else in the cricket body or its other member boards over the years.
“Not only is there a need to do the right thing but to also ensure that the ICC is also seen as doing the right thing. As the global governing body of the game, the ICC is accountable to its members and fans all over the world. Transparency has to be the key at all times and unfortunately, it was missing in many ways all this while," say those tracking developments.
Both the external audit of the T20 World Cup and the cultural review will be keenly watched by all stakeholders as the delivery of the multi-nation event in the West Indies and the USA last month has raised plenty of questions on the working of the global cricket body.
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