Lorgat supports Pak as host from neutral venue: Cricketnext

As the year draws to an end, the ICC has made it clear that it remains committed to stamp out racism and slow over-rates in the new year and beyond. ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat spoke to CNN-IBN recently and reflected on those issues and a lot more.

CNN-IBN: In some ways we have seen there haven't been many issues where member nations have spoken in one voice. But this was one incident where we saw all of them coming together.

Haroon Lorgat: I speak with the BCCI, I speak with the England Cricket Board, (ICC president) David Morgan and myself try and encourage a single, collective responsibility. Because if we don't tackle it together, we simply won't our problems like the security threats that we face. We all have to be on the same page. We have to allow advice, we have to press forward as a single family.

CNN-IBN: A word for the England players. These were the same men with the other countries who refused to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

Haroon Lorgat: I think the stance that the England players took is a very big one. Sometimes in life you have to do things which are beyond the level of responsibility that is expected. But they have taken a very important step.

CNN-IBN: Three weeks before the tournament it was decided that the Champions Trophy will be postponed. Do we expect a decision to come sooner this time around?

Haroon Lorgat: The board had committed in September-October that by the end of the tour of India to Pakistan, that decision would be taken. If the tour does not proceed (India have now decided not to tour Pakistan) then the board will still make a call at its meeting in January. So I'm hopeful that the decision this time around will be taken a lot sooner than last year.

CNN-IBN: In case Pakistan decides that they will be the official host but would like to host it in Dubai or elsewhere, will the ICC consider that request?

Haroon Lorgat: I would certainly support that. I think there are some excellent facilities in Dubai, and we have committed to Pakistan to retain the host status. If they wish to move to a neutral venue, I would support that.

CNN-IBN: But there are a few other issues if you look at it. How does the ICC plan to tackle the Zimbabwe issue?

Haroon Lorgat: We recently have come back from a visit to Zimbabwe. We went to understand and see what the first-class structure is on the cricket side is. We want to try and come up with a set of recommendations that may well even include assisting Zimbabwe tour other countries, play against their A teams, come to the Global Cricket Academy in Dubai where we can assist them. But we want to try and get across to them and work at the cricketing structures to produce a better Test-playing team.

CNN-IBN: In the same meeting, slow over-rates were discussed, and how to deal with it. We have seen that fines on players and captains don't seem to have been working.

Haroon Lorgat: Perhaps players earn a lot these days and fines don't matter too much. But it's correct, the chief executives expressed concern that we were not effectively dealing with slow over-rates. That's something we want to look at. We want to try and encourage and ensure that the game moves on, that the over-rates are maintained. If necessary, we will increase the sanctions to ensure that.

CNN-IBN: Separating the Anti-Racism Code from the Player Code of Conduct was also mentioned. How to you plan to proceed on that?

Haroon Lorgat: There was a view expressed that to support the ICC's attitude to a zero-tolerance approach to any racial behaviours be given a separate entity as a Racism Code. That's what we are going to start working on now. That should give more effect to the stance that the ICC has to its policy of Anti-Racism.

CNN-IBN: There were talks about effectively dealing with sledging and making sure that the game is played in a more sanitised way.

Haroon Lorgat: There is a certain line beyond which you can't accept the behaviour. That's what we are expecting to deal with. We would like the umpires to be a little more proactive on the field at the point where it can get out of hand, to stop it then and there, rather than leaving it for the end of the day with the match referees to pick it up, and dish out fines. If we can prevent it before it actually occurs, a lot better.

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