ICC board recommends David Richardson's name as CEO

MUMBAI: The ICC Board has recommended the name of David Richardson, the ICC General Manager ? Cricket, to succeed compatriot Haroon Lorgat as the ICC CEO to the ICC Annual Conference.

The ICC Nominations Committee met in Mumbai at the weekend to interview four ?outstanding candidates? for the chief executive?s role and on Thursday obtained the ICC Board?s support via teleconference for Richardson?s nomination.

Besides Richardson, those in the fray included England and Wales Cricket Board CEO David Collier and former Karnataka cricketer and head of adidas South East Asia Tarun Kunzru. The fourth candidate was from Australia going by the name Baker.

The ICC Annual Conference is to be held in Malaysia capital Kuala Lumpur on 28 June.

If endorsed, Richardson will become the fourth ICC CEO. His predecessors were David Richards (1993-2001), Malcolm Speed (2001-2008) and Haroon Lorgat, whose current four-year tenure ends on 30 June 2012.

Johannesburg-born Richardson, 52, has been the ICC General Manager ? Cricket for the last 10 years and has an outstanding CV having represented South Africa as a wicketkeeper in 42 Test matches and 122 One-Day Internationals.

On retiring from international cricket in 1998, Mr Richardson, a qualified lawyer, maintained close contact with the game as both a business director with Octagon SA and as a media commentator before becoming the ICC?s first General Manager in January 2002.

After hearing of his nomination, Richardson said: ?It is a great honour to be nominated to be chief executive of the ICC. I am delighted with this opportunity and thank the ICC Board for their approval. It has been a privilege to serve as ICC General Manager ? Cricket, and that work will continue until such time as the ICC Annual Conference ratifies my nomination. I am looking forward to working closely with all the membership and stakeholders in the game."