International Cricket Council facts for kids

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International Cricket Council

Official logo of ICC
Abbreviation	ICC
Predecessor	Imperial Cricket Conference (1909–1965) International Cricket Conference (1965–1989)
Formation	15 June 1909; 115 years ago (1909-06-15)
Type	Federation of national associations
Headquarters	Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2005–present) London, England (1909–2005)
Membership	108 members
Official languages	English
Chairman	Greg Barclay
Deputy Chairman	Imran Khwaja
CEO	Geoff Allardice
General Manager	Wasim Khan
Revenue (2022-23)	US$431.93 million
Expenses (2022-23)	US$223.55 million
Award(s)	ICC Awards

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. It was renamed as the International Cricket Conference in 1965 and adopted its current name in 1987. The ICC has its headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The ICC currently has 108 member nations: 12 Full Members that play Test matches, and 96 Associate Members. The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of cricket's major international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup, T20 World Cup, and ICC World Test Championship. It also appoints the umpires and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of discipline for international cricket, and also co-ordinates action against corruption and match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (which include all Test matches outside of the World Test Championship Final), and neither does it govern domestic cricket within member countries. It does not make or alter the laws of the game, which have remained under the governance of the Marylebone Cricket Club since 1788.

The Chairman heads the board of directors and on June 26, 2014, Narayanaswami Srinivasan, the former president of BCCI, was announced as the first chairman of the council. The role of ICC president became a largely honorary position after the establishment of the chairman role and other changes made to the ICC constitution in 2014. It has been claimed that the 2014 changes have handed control to the 'Big Three' nations of England, India and Australia. The last ICC president was Zaheer Abbas, who was appointed in June 2015 following the resignation of Mustafa Kamal in April 2015. When the post of ICC president was abolished in April 2016, Shashank Manohar, who replaced Srinivasan in October 2015, became the first independent elected chairman of the ICC.

History

1909–1963 – Imperial Cricket Conference

On 30 November 1907, Abe Bailey, the President of the South African Cricket Association, wrote a letter to the Marylebone Cricket Club's (MCC, England) secretary, Francis Lacey. Bailey suggested the formation of an 'Imperial Cricket Board'. In the letter, he suggested that the board would be responsible for the formulation of rules and regulations that would govern the bilateral international matches of the three members, Australia, England and South Africa. Bailey wanted to host a Triangular Test series among the participant countries in South Africa. However, Australia rejected the offer. Still, Bailey did not lose hope. He saw an opportunity of getting the three members together during Australia's tour of England in 1909. After continued lobbying and efforts, Bailey was successful.

On 15 June 1909, representatives from England, Australia and South Africa met at Lord's and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. A month later, a second meeting between the three members was held. The rules were agreed upon amongst the nations, and the first-ever Tri-Test series was decided to be held in England in 1912.

In 1926, West Indies, New Zealand and India were elected as Full Members, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, it was given Test status five years later in 1952, becoming the seventh Test-playing nation. In May 1961, South Africa left the Commonwealth and therefore lost membership.

1964–1988 – International Cricket Conference

In 1964, the ICC agreed to include non-Test playing countries. The following year, the ICC changed its name to the International Cricket Conference. The US, Ceylon and Fiji were admitted as Associates, a new class of members.

In 1968, Denmark, Bermuda, Netherlands, and East Africa were admitted as Associates, while South Africa had still not applied to rejoin the ICC.

In 1969, the basic rules of ICC were amended.

At the 1971 meeting, the idea of organizing a World Cup was introduced. At the 1973 meeting, it was decided that a World Cup would be played in 1975 in England. The six Test playing nations and East Africa and Sri Lanka were invited to take part.

New members were added frequently during this period:

In 1974, Israel and Singapore were admitted as Associates.

In 1976, West Africa was admitted as an Associate.

In 1977, Bangladesh was admitted as an Associate.

In 1978, Papua-New Guinea was admitted as an Associate. South Africa applied to rejoin, but their application was rejected.

In 1981, Sri Lanka was promoted to a Full Member, and they played their first Test in 1982.

In 1984, a third class of membership (Affiliate) was introduced. Italy was the first such member, followed by Switzerland in 1985. In 1987, Bahamas and France were admitted, followed by Nepal in 1988.

1989–present – International Cricket Council

At the July 1989 meeting, the ICC renamed itself as the International Cricket Council, and the tradition of the MCC President automatically becoming the Chairman of ICC was abolished.

In 1990, UAE joined as an Associate.

In 1991, for the first time in ICC history, the meeting was held away from England, in Melbourne, Australia. South Africa was re-elected as a Full Member of the ICC in July, following the end of apartheid.

In 1992, Zimbabwe was admitted as the ninth Full Member. Namibia joined as an Associate member. Austria, Belgium, Brunei and Spain all joined as Affiliates.

In 1993, the position of Chief Executive of ICC was created; David Richards of the Australian Cricket Board was the first person appointed to the position. In July, Sir Clyde Walcott, from Barbados, was elected as the first non-British Chairman. The emergence of new technology saw the introduction of a third umpire who was equipped with video playback facilities.

By 1995, TV replays were made available for run-outs and stumpings in Test matches, with the third umpire required to signal out or not out with red and green lights respectively. The following year, the cameras were used to determine if the ball had crossed the boundary.

In 1997 decisions on the cleanness of catches could be referred to the third umpire. This year also saw the introduction of the Duckworth-Lewis method, a way of adjusting targets in rain-affected ODI matches.

In 2000, Bangladesh was admitted as the tenth Full Member of the International Cricket Council.

In 2005, ICC moved to its new headquarters to Dubai.

In 2017, Afghanistan and Ireland were admitted as the eleventh and twelfth Full Members of the International Cricket Council after a unanimous vote at the ICC Full Council meeting at The Oval. Affiliate Membership was also abolished, with all existing Affiliate Members becoming Associate Members.

In 2018, all Women's T20 matches were elevated to Women's Twenty20 International status.

In 2019, all Men's T20 matches were elevated to Twenty20 International status.

In July 2022, Cambodia, Cote D'Ivoire, and Uzbekistan were granted associate member status by the ICC.

On 12 June 2023, After Australia's ICC World Test Championship title win against India, in the final by 209 runs at The Oval, Australia made history by becoming the first-ever team to clinch all major ICC trophies.

Members

Current ICC Members by Membership status:
     Full Members
     Associate Members with ODI status
     Associate Members
     Former or suspended Members
     Non-Members

Full Members – The 12 governing bodies of teams that have full voting rights within the International Cricket Council and play official Test matches.

Country	Teams	Governing body	Full member since	Test status since	Region
England	Men • Women • U19	England and Wales Cricket Board	15 June 1909	15 March 1877	Europe
Australia	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Australia	15 June 1909	15 March 1877	East Asia-Pacific
South Africa	Men • Women • U19	Cricket South Africa	15 June 1909	12 March 1889	Africa
West Indies	Men • Women • U19	Cricket West Indies	31 May 1926	23 June 1928	Americas
New Zealand	Men • Women • U19	New Zealand Cricket	31 May 1926	10 January 1930	East Asia-Pacific
India	Men • Women • U19	Board of Control for Cricket in India	31 May 1926	25 June 1932	Asia
Pakistan	Men • Women • U19	Pakistan Cricket Board	28 July 1952	16 October 1952	Asia
Sri Lanka	Men • Women • U19	Sri Lanka Cricket	21 July 1981	21 July 1981	Asia
Zimbabwe	Men • Women • U19	Zimbabwe Cricket	6 July 1992	18 October 1992	Africa
Bangladesh	Men • Women • U19	Bangladesh Cricket Board	26 June 2000	10 November 2000	Asia
Ireland	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Ireland	22 June 2017	11 May 2018	Europe
Afghanistan	Men • Women • U19	Afghanistan Cricket Board	22 June 2017	14 June 2018	Asia

Associate Members – The 96 governing bodies in countries where cricket is firmly established and organized, but have not been granted Full Membership yet.

Currently, 8 associate teams have temporary ODI status until 2027. These teams are one tier above the rest of the associate teams.

Country	Governing body	Associate member since	ODI status since	Region
Netherlands	Royal Dutch Cricket Association	1966	2018	Europe
Canada	Cricket Canada	1968	2023	Americas
United Arab Emirates	Emirates Cricket Board	1990	2014	Asia
Namibia	Cricket Namibia	1992	2019	Africa
Scotland	Cricket Scotland	1994	2005	Europe
Nepal	Cricket Association of Nepal	1996	2018	Asia
Oman	Oman Cricket	2014	2019	Asia
United States	USA Cricket	2019	2019	Americas

The details of all 96 associate teams are presented in the table below:

Country	Teams	Government	Affiliate membership	Associate membership	Region
Argentina	Men • Women • U19	Argentine Cricket Association	N/A	1974	Americas
Austria	Men • Women • U19	Austrian Cricket Association	1992	2017	Europe
Bahamas	Men • Women • U19	Bahamas Cricket Association	1987	2017	Americas
Bahrain	Men • Women • U19	Bahrain Cricket Association	2001	2017	Asia
Belgium	Men • Women • U19	Belgian Cricket Federation	1991	2005	Europe
Belize	Men • Women • U19	Belize National Cricket Association	1997	2017	Americas
Bermuda	Men • Women • U19	Bermuda Cricket Board	N/A	1966	Americas
Bhutan	Men • Women • U19	Bhutan Cricket Council Board	2001	2017	Asia
Botswana	Men • Women • U19	Botswana Cricket Association	2001	2005	Africa
Brazil	Men • Women • U19	Brazilian Cricket Confederation	2002	2017	Americas
Bulgaria	Men • Women • U19	Bulgarian Cricket Federation	2008	2017	Europe
Cambodia	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Association of Cambodia	N/A	2022	Asia
Cameroon	Men • Women • U19	Cameroon Cricket Federation	2007	2017	Africa
Canada	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Canada	N/A	1968	Americas
Cayman Islands	Men • Women • U19	Cayman Islands Cricket Association	1997	2002	Americas
Chile	Men • Women • U19	Chilean Cricket Association	2002	2017	Americas
China	Men • Women • U19	Chinese Cricket Association	2004	2017	Asia
Cook Islands	Men • Women • U19	Cook Islands Cricket Association	2000	2017	East Asia-Pacific
Costa Rica	Men • Women • U19	Costa Rica Cricket Federation	2002	2017	Americas
Croatia	Men • Women • U19	Croatian Cricket Federation	2001	2017	Europe
Cyprus	Men • Women • U19	Cyprus Cricket Association	1999	2017	Europe
Czech Republic	Men • Women • U19	Czech Cricket Union	2000	2017	Europe
Denmark	Men • Women • U19	Danish Cricket Federation	N/A	1966	Europe
Estonia	Men • Women • U19	Estonian Cricket Association	2008	2017	Europe
Eswatini	Men • Women • U19	Eswatini Cricket Association	2007	2017	Africa
Falkland Islands	Men • Women • U19	Falkland Cricket Association	2007	2017	Americas
Fiji	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Fiji	N/A	1965	East Asia-Pacific
Finland	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Finland	2000	2017	Europe
France	Men • Women • U19	France Cricket Association	1987	1998	Europe
Gambia	Men • Women • U19	Gambia Cricket Association	2002	2017	Africa
Germany	Men • Women • U19	German Cricket Federation	1991	1999	Europe
Ghana	Men • Women • U19	Ghana Cricket Association	2002	2017	Africa
Gibraltar	Men • Women • U19	Gibraltar Cricket Association	N/A	1969	Europe
Greece	Men • Women • U19	Hellenic Cricket Federation	1995	2017	Europe
Guernsey	Men • Women • U19	Guernsey Cricket Board	2005	2008	Europe
Hong Kong	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Hong Kong	N/A	1969	Asia
Hungary	Men • Women • U19	Hungarian Cricket Association	2012	2017	Europe
Indonesia	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Indonesia	2001	2017	Asia/East Asia-Pacific
Iran	Men • Women • U19	Islamic Republic of Iran Cricket Association	2003	2017	Asia
Isle of Man	Men • Women • U19	Isle of Man Cricket Association	2004	2017	Europe
Israel	Men • Women • U19	Israel Cricket Association	N/A	1974	Europe
Italy	Men • Women • U19	Italian Cricket Federation	1984	1995	Europe
Ivory Coast	Men • Women • U19	Côte d’Ivoire Cricket Federation	N/A	2022	Africa
Japan	Men • Women • U19	Japan Cricket Association	1989	2005	Asia/East Asia-Pacific
Jersey	Men • Women • U19	Jersey Cricket Board	2005	2007	Europe
Kenya	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Kenya	N/A	1981	Africa
Kuwait	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Kuwait	1998	2005	Asia
Lesotho	Men • Women • U19	Lesotho Cricket Association	2001	2017	Africa
Luxembourg	Men • Women • U19	Luxembourg Cricket Federation	1998	2017	Europe
Malawi	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Malawi	1998	2017	Africa
Malaysia	Men • Women • U19	Malaysian Cricket Association	N/A	1967	Asia
Maldives	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Board of Maldives	1998	2017	Asia
Mali	Men • Women • U19	Malian Cricket Federation	2005	2017	Africa
Malta	Men • Women • U19	Malta Cricket Association	1998	2017	Europe
Mexico	Men • Women • U19	Mexico Cricket Association	2004	2017	Americas
Mongolia	Men • Women • U19	Mongolia Cricket Association	N/A	2021	Asia
Mozambique	Men • Women • U19	Mozambican Cricket Association	2003	2017	Africa
Myanmar	Men • Women • U19	Myanmar Cricket Federation	2006	2017	Asia
Namibia	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Namibia	N/A	1992	Africa
Nepal	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Association of Nepal	1988	1996	Asia
Netherlands	Men • Women • U19	Royal Dutch Cricket Association	N/A	1966	Europe
Nigeria	Men • Women • U19	Nigeria Cricket Federation	N/A	2002	Africa
Norway	Men • Women • U19	Norwegian Cricket Board	2000	2017	Europe
Oman	Men • Women • U19	Oman Cricket	2000	2014	Asia
Panama	Men • Women • U19	Panama Cricket Association	2002	2017	Americas
Papua New Guinea	Men • Women • U19	Cricket PNG	N/A	1973	East Asia-Pacific
Peru	Men • Women • U19	Peru Cricket Association	2007	2017	Americas
Philippines	Men • Women • U19	Philippine Cricket Association	2000	2017	East Asia-Pacific
Portugal	Men • Women • U19	Portuguese Cricket Federation	1996	2017	Europe
Qatar	Men • Women • U19	Qatar Cricket Association	1999	2017	Asia
Romania	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Romania	2013	2017	Europe
Rwanda	Men • Women • U19	Rwanda Cricket Association	2003	2017	Africa
Saint Helena	Men • Women • U19	St Helena Cricket Association	2001	2017	Africa
Samoa	Men • Women • U19	Samoa International Cricket Association	2000	2017	East Asia-Pacific
Saudi Arabia	Men • Women • U19	Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation	2003	2016	Asia
Scotland	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Scotland	N/A	1994	Europe
Serbia	Men • Women • U19	Serbian Cricket Federation	2015	2017	Europe
Seychelles	Men • Women • U19	Seychelles Cricket Association	2010	2017	Africa
Sierra Leone	Men • Women • U19	Sierra Leone Cricket Association	2002	2017	Africa
Singapore	Men • Women • U19	Singapore Cricket Association	N/A	1974	Asia
Slovenia	Men • Women • U19	Slovenian Cricket Association	2005	2017	Europe
South Korea	Men • Women • U19	Korea Cricket Association	2001	2017	East Asia-Pacific
Spain	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Spain	1992	2017	Europe
Suriname	Men • Women • U19	Suriname Cricket Board	2002	2011	Americas
Sweden	Men • Women • U19	Swedish Cricket Federation	1997	2017	Europe
Switzerland	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Switzerland	1985	2021	Europe
Tajikistan	Men • Women • U19	Tajikistan Cricket Federation	N/A	2021	Asia
Tanzania	Men • Women • U19	Tanzania Cricket Association	N/A	2001	Africa
Thailand	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Association of Thailand	1995	2005	Asia
Turkey	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Turkey	2008	2017	Europe
Turks and Caicos Islands	Men • Women • U19	Turks and Caicos Cricket Association	2002	2017	Americas
Uganda	Men • Women • U19	Uganda Cricket Association	N/A	1998	Africa
United Arab Emirates	Men • Women • U19	Emirates Cricket Board	1989	1990	Asia
United States	Men • Women • U19	USA Cricket	N/A	1965 2019	Americas
Uzbekistan	Men • Women • U19	Cricket Federation of Uzbekistan	N/A	2022	Asia
Vanuatu	Men • Women • U19	Vanuatu Cricket Association	1995	2009	East Asia-Pacific

Location

The ICC's offices in Dubai

Since its creation, the ICC had the Lord's Cricket Ground as its home, and in 1993 moved its offices to the "Clock Tower" building at the nursery end of the ground. The independently run ICC was funded initially by commercial exploitation of the rights to the World Cup of One Day International cricket. As not all Member countries had double-tax agreements with the United Kingdom, it was necessary to protect cricket's revenues by creating a company, ICC Development (International) Pvt. Ltd, known as IDI outside the UK. This was established in January 1994 and was based in Monaco .

For the remainder of the nineties, the administration of IDI was a modest affair. But with the negotiation of a bundle of rights to all ICC events from 2001 to 2008, revenues available to International cricket and the ICC member countries rose substantially. This led to a growth in the number of commercial staff employed by IDI in Monaco. It also had the disadvantage that the council's cricket administrators, who remained at Lord's, were separated from their commercial colleagues in Monaco. The Council decided to seek ways of bringing all of their staff together in one office while protecting their commercial income from tax.

The option of staying at Lord's was investigated and a request was made, through Sport England, to the British Government to allow the ICC to have all its personnel (including those working on commercial matters) in London – but be given special exemption from paying UK corporation tax on its commercial income. The British Government was unwilling to create a precedent and would not agree to this request. As a consequence, the ICC examined other locations and eventually settled on the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The ICC is also registered in British Virgin Islands. In August 2005, the ICC moved its offices to Dubai, and subsequently closed its offices at Lord's and Monaco. The move to Dubai was made after an 11–1 vote by the ICC's executive board in favour.

While the principal driver of the ICC's move to Dubai was the wish to bring its main employees together in one tax-efficient location, a secondary reason was the wish to move offices closer to the increasingly important new centres of cricketing power in South Asia. Lord's had been a logical venue when the ICC had been administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) (a situation that lasted until 1993). But the growing power of India and Pakistan in world cricket had made the continued control of international cricket by a British private members club (the MCC) anachronistic and unsustainable. A direct consequence of the changes and reforms instituted in 1993 was eventually to be the move away from Lord's to a more neutral venue.

Income generation

Variant ICC Logo with old motto

The ICC generates income from the tournaments it organises, primarily the Cricket World Cup, and it distributes the majority of that income to its members. Sponsorship and television rights of the World Cup brought in over US$1.6 billion between 2007 and 2015, by far the ICC's main source of income. In the nine-month accounting period to 31 December 2007 the ICC had operating income of $12.66 million, mainly from member subscriptions and sponsorship. In contrast, event income was US$285.87 million, including $239 million from the 2007 World Cup. There was also investment income of $6.695 million in the period. In 2022 ICC generated US$208,375,000 as an net income.

The ICC has no income streams from the bilateral international cricket matches (Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20 Internationals), that account for the great majority of the international playing schedule, as they are owned and run by its members. It has sought to create other new events to augment its World Cup revenues. These include the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Super Series played in Australia in 2005. However, these events have not been as successful as the ICC hoped. The Super Series was widely seen as a failure and is not expected to be repeated, and India called for the Champions Trophy to be scrapped in 2006. The Champions Trophy 2004 event was referred to in Wisden 2005 by the editor as a "turkey of a tournament" and a "fiasco"; although the 2006 event was seen as a greater success due to a new format.

The ICC World Twenty20, first played in 2007, was a success. The ICC's current plan is to have an international tournament every year, with a Twenty20 World Cup played in even number years, the World Cup continuing to be held the year before the Olympic Games, and the ICC Champions Trophy in the remaining year of the cycle. This cycle began in 2010, one year after the 2009 tournament.

International tournaments

ICC Events

The ICC organizes various international Test, One-Day and Twenty20 cricket competitions for Men, Women and Under-19 national teams. The details are presented in the table below:

Tournament	Latest edition	Format	Champions	Next edition
Men
ICC World Test Championship	2021-23	Test	Australia	2023-25
ICC Cricket World Cup	2023	ODI	Australia	2027
ICC Champions Trophy	2017		Pakistan	2025
ICC T20 World Cup	2022	T20I	England	2024
Women
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup	2022	WODI	Australia	2025
ICC Women's T20 World Cup	2023	WT20I	Australia	2024
ICC Women's T20 Champions Trophy	2027		TBD	2031
Under-19
ICC Men's Under-19 World Cup	2024	50 overs	Australia	2026
ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup	2023	T20	India	2025

Additionally, The ICC in association with Commonwealth Games Federation and International Olympic Committee also conducts Twenty20 Cricket Tournament for Women in Commonwealth Games and Cricket at the Summer Olympics (for both) respectively.

Qualifiers

The ICC organizes qualifying tournaments for various international main events.

Starting with the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, the Global Qualifiers will no longer take place and teams will qualify directly based on their performance in the previous T20 World Cup and from regional qualifiers.

Leagues

ICC conducts world cup qualifying leagues for associate teams. A two-tier league system with promotion & relegation where best performing teams qualify for ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

In addition, there are two playoff events which are part of World cup qualification process and essentially connected to the leagues above mentioned.

• ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff
• ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Playoff

Rules and regulation

The International Cricket Council oversees playing conditions, bowling reviews, and other ICC regulations. The ICC does not have copyright to the Laws of Cricket: only the MCC may change the Laws, though this is usually done in consultation with the game's global governing body. The ICC maintains a set of playing conditions for international cricket which make slight amendments to the Laws. They also have a "Code of Conduct" to which teams and players in international matches are required to adhere. Where breaches of this code occur the ICC can apply sanctions, usually fines. In 2008, the ICC imposed 19 penalties on players. ICC announces changes to Playing Conditions.

Umpires and referees

The ICC appoints international umpires and match referees who officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. The ICC operates three panels of umpires: the Elite Panel, the International Panel, and the Associates and Affiliates Panel.

As of March 2012, the Elite Panel included twelve umpires. In theory, two umpires from the Elite Panel officiate at every Test match, while one Elite Panel umpire stands in ODI matches together with an umpire from the International Panel. In practice, members of the International Panel stand in occasional Test matches, as this is viewed an excellent good opportunity to see whether they can cope at the Test level and whether they should be elevated to the Elite Panel. Members of the Elite Panel are full-time employees of the ICC, although they do still, very occasionally, umpire first-class cricket in their country of residence. The average annual officiating schedule for Elite Umpires is 8–10 Test matches and 10–15 ODIs, a potential on-field workload of 75 days per year, plus travel and preparation time.

The International Panel is made up of officials nominated from each of the ten Test-playing cricket boards. The Panel Members officiate in ODI matches in their home country, and assist the Elite Panel at peak times in the cricket calendar when they can be appointed to overseas ODI and Test matches. International Panel members also undertake overseas umpiring assignments such as the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup to improve their knowledge and understanding of overseas condition, and help them prepare for possible promotion to the Elite Panel. Some of these umpires also officiate in the Cricket World Cup. Each of the Test cricket boards nominates a "third umpire" who can be called upon to review certain on-field decisions through instant television replays. All third umpires are first-class umpires in their own country, and the role is seen as a step onto the International Panel, and then the Elite Panel.

The inaugural ICC Associate and Affiliate International Umpires Panel was formed in June 2006. It superseded the ICC Associate and Affiliate International Umpires Panel, created in 2005, and serves as the pinnacle for umpires from non-Test playing Members, with selection achieved through each of the five ICC Development Program Regional Umpires Panels.

Members of the Associate and Affiliate International Umpires Panel are eligible for appointments to ODIs involving ICC Associate Members, ICC Intercontinental Cup matches and other Associate and Affiliate tournaments. High-performing umpires may also be considered for other ICC events, including the ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup, and could also be invited to be involved in the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup.

There is also an Elite Panel of ICC Referees who act as the independent representative of the ICC at all Test and ODI matches. As of January 2009, it had 6 members, all highly experienced former international cricketers. The Referees do not have the power to report players or officials (which has to be done by the umpires), but they are responsible for conducting hearings under the ICC Code of Conduct and imposing penalties as required at matches, ranging from an official reprimand to a lifetime ban from cricket. Decisions can be appealed, but the original decision is upheld in most cases.

The Council failed to achieve consensus among the cricket-playing nations – as of June 2012 – on the universal application of an Umpire's Decision Review System, due to opposition by BCCI. It will continue to be applied subject to mutual agreement of the playing countries. In July 2012, ICC decided to send a delegation to show the ball tracking research done by Ed Rosten, an expert on computer vision and technology, to BCCI to remove the skepticism about the use of DRS technology.

Regional bodies

These regional bodies aim to organise, promote and develop the game of cricket:

• Asian Cricket Council
• Africa Cricket Association
• ICC Europe
• ICC Americas
• ICC East Asia-Pacific

The ICC regional bodies which looks after regions not covered by regional bodies of Asia and Africa:

• ICC Asia
• ICC Africa

The regional body for Europe was disestablished following which ICC took over operations:

• European Cricket Council

Two further regional bodies were disestablished following the creation of the African Cricket Association:

• East and Central Africa Cricket Council
• West Africa Cricket Council

Rankings and awards

Rankings

The ICC publishes team rankings for all three formats of the game and updates the same periodically.

Men's

• ICC Men's Test Team Rankings
• ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings
• ICC Men's T20I Team Rankings

Women's

• ICC Women's ODI and T20I Team Rankings

The ICC Player Rankings are a widely followed system of rankings for international cricketers based on their recent performances.

Men's

• ICC Men's Player Rankings

Women's

• ICC Women's Player Rankings

Awards

The ICC has instituted the ICC Awards to recognize and honor the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months. The inaugural ICC Awards ceremony was held on 7 September 2004, in London. In 2020, ICC announced a special one-off event, the ICC Awards of the Decade to honour the best performers and performances in the previous 10 years.

The ICC Development Awards were established in 2002 to celebrate the world-leading initiatives and innovative programmes delivered by ICC Members to grow the game around the globe.

Anti-corruption and security

The ICC has also had to deal with bribery scandals involving top cricketers. Following the corruption scandals by cricketers connected with the legal and illegal bookmaking markets, the ICC set up an Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) in 2000 under the retired Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police, Lord Condon. Among the corruption on which they have reported was that of former South African captain Hansie Cronje who had accepted substantial sums of money from an Indian bookmaker for under-performing or ensuring that certain matches had a pre-determined result. Similarly, the former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja were investigated, found guilty of match-fixing, and banned from playing cricket (for life and for five years, respectively). The ACSU continues to monitor and investigate any reports of corruption in cricket and protocols have been introduced, which for example prohibit the use of mobile telephones in dressing rooms.

Prior to the 2007 Cricket World Cup, ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed warned against any corruption and stated that the ICC would be vigilant and intolerant against it.

Following a scandal that occurred during the 2010 Pakistan tour of England, 3 Pakistani players, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were found to be guilty of spot-fixing, and were banned for 5 years, 7 years and 10 years respectively. On 3 November 2011, jail terms were handed down of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years and eight months for Majeed, the sports agent that facilitated the bribes.

In 2019, an investigation by Al Jazeera revealed match-fixing in Sri-Lanka, India, England, Australia and other cricket playing nations. The ICC launched an investigation corcerning the report.

Global Cricket Academy

The ICC Global Cricket Academy (GCA) is located at Dubai Sports City in the United Arab Emirates. The GCA's facilities include two ovals, each with 10 turf pitches, outdoor turf and synthetic practice facilities, indoor practice facilities including hawk eye technology and a cricket-specific gymnasium. Rod Marsh has been appointed as the academy's Director of Coaching. The opening, originally planned for 2008, took place in 2010.

ICC Cricket World Program

The International Cricket Council telecasts a weekly program on television called ICC Cricket World. It is produced by Sportsbrand.

It is a weekly 30-minute program providing the latest cricket news, recent cricket action including all Test and One-Day International matches, as well as off-field features and interviews.

See also

In Spanish: Consejo Internacional de Críquet para niños

• Association of Cricket Officials
• List of International Cricket Council members
• Federation of International Cricketers' Associations
• International structure of cricket
• List of International Cricket Council presidents (Position dissolved since 2014)