ECB supportive of CI bid to go ICC route

GUERNSEY and Jersey Cricket Associations are forging ahead with plans to make separate applications to join the International Cricket Council as affiliate members. The confirmation came at the annual meeting of the Channel Islands Cricket Board held at La Collinette Hotel over the weekend.

The ICC is the governing world body of cricket and currently has 89 member countries.

Joining the ICC would enable the islands to play in international competitions, both in the European region and globally.

Save for the inaugural European Cricketers Cup international cricket has previously been denied Guernsey.

But in order to join the ICC the two Channel Islands would have to sever their connections with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which has provided development funding to the CI since 1997.

Keith Dennis, chairman of both the full CICB and the Jersey branch of it, said that the last remaining information required to enable both islands to formally decide where their future allegiances should lie, should be available 'within weeks, rather than months'.

Dennis also confirmed that at the CICB AGM it had been agreed that the decisions of both islands should be made by 31 March 2004 and that if it was decided to make applications to the ICC, it was likely that both Guernsey and Jersey would be granted affiliate member status in June 2005, in time to enter the European region's 2005 competitions.

'There are three possible options for the CICB to consider,' said Dennis.

'Firstly, the status quo could remain, with the Channel Islands staying within the ECB.

'Secondly, both islands could apply separately to join the ICC.

'Thirdly, one island could opt to join the ICC with the other remaining within the ECB.

'A potential fourth option of a combined Channel Islands entry to the ICC has been ruled out under the ICC's definition of a nation in its membership eligibility,' added Dennis.

'There are many factors to consider,' he said.

'It is essential to be able to offer the Channel Islands' senior and age-group cricketers access to the most appropriate competitions and following the demise of the ECB's 38-County competition in 2002, no such competitions exist within the ECB.

'This was the initial motive for exploring representative cricket options for the islands, but we have to properly consider vital development funding issues, the continued eligibility of Channel Islanders to play county and minor county cricket and the impact on the various age groups from under-13s to under-19s.

'We have to satisfy ourselves on each of these issues except for development funding, but that aspect is expected to be clarified in the coming weeks. At that point we can make a balanced decision based on all the facts.'

Dennis and David Piesing, who has been involved in extensive research on the subject of the islands swapping ECB membership for the more financially and competitively fruitful ICC, were at Lord's last week where they had detailed discussions with some of the sport's top officials.

They included Tim Lamb, the ECB chief executive, Keith Pont, ECB's director of cricket development and Richard Holdsworth, European development manager for the International Cricket Council.

Piesing said it was a 'fruitful and positive meeting' at English cricket's headquarters.

'They are extremely supportive and sympathetic to our position and gave every indication that they would fully support an application from us for funding support to cover the period between joining the ICC as affiliate members and progressing to associate member status, if we were to go ahead with our applications.

'That vital funding support period is likely to be for two or three years.'

He added: 'Our facilities, playing numbers and standards in both islands would substantially boost the overall strength of the ICC's European region and we would expect to be regularly hosting and co-hosting European tournaments, on grass wickets.

'That would be a significant boost for sports tourism in both the islands.'