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'Grow Test-playing nations'
04/04/2008 20:11 - (SA)
Cape Town - Haroon Lorgat, the chief
executive-elect of the International Cricket Council, said on
Friday he hoped to grow the game beyond the existing 10
Test-playing members.
Lorgat, 47, will succeed incumbent Malcolm Speed when he
steps down on July 1 following the ICC's annual conference in London.
Lorgat said: "It will be a personal goal to try and make sure
that we get the Test-playing nations beyond 10.
"You need to be in the detail and understand each country to put a timeline on how long that might take though."
Lorgat said the game was in rude health.
"International cricket is in a very, very healthy state.
"There are contractual revenue flows through to 2015 so the greatest opportunity will be to maintain and in fact sustain the growth that the game has enjoyed in the last few years."
'Can be very powerful'
He said the economic power of India and the development of
Twenty/20 cricket were opportunities to further expand the
playing of the sport.
"(Twenty/20) is a wonderful opportunity to grow the game,"
he said.
"If we cleverly use it at a domestic level to introduce new
people to cricket and manage the balance between the three
different formats, I actually think it can be very powerful."
Lorgat said part of his role was to nurture the ICC's
relationship with the increasingly powerful Indian board.
"India is quite powerful and we should
leverage that in the international cricket world.
"I know the BCCI is very mindful of protecting and
supporting the ICC in delivering the game across the globe.
" Working together with India we could maintain or grow the base of cricket."
Lorgat, an executive director of a South African investment
company, was chosen a week after his compatriot Imtiaz Patel
turned down the offer after being named the preferred candidate.
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