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Pakistan calls for consensus on Woolf report

February 22, 2012

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	Zaka Ashraf says the Woolf report makes some recommendations which are good for world cricket © AFP  Enlarge
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The Pakistan Cricket Board has suggested the ICC executive board evolve a consensus among cricket boards on the recommendations of the Woolf reporton cricket's global governance before deciding whether to implement it or not.

This comes a week after Cricket Australia said the ICC executive board would be "silly" to simply rejectthe recommendations of the Woolf report; that itself was a reaction to the Indian board's objections.

"We are studying it and it isn't that bad," Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, told ESPNcricinfo. "If you look at it in a broader form, it can prove useful for international cricket. Obviously there are reservations but those need to be debated instead of being rejected outright.

"I have suggested to the ICC that it make a consensus report after taking inputs from all member boards so that the recommendations are implemented amicably for the betterment of world cricket."

The PCB has called a governing board meeting on March 1, with the Woolf report one of the main points on the agenda. The PCB will then write back to the ICC with its detailed observations on the report.

"I am studying it, and our lawyers are assessing all aspects of the report, and we will definitely respond to ICC. But there is no point in rejecting this report at all, obviously there are certain points that need to be debated before approval but that has to be discussed... there are several points positive for international cricket."

The ICC, at its meeting last month, also recommended splitting the role of the president with a new chairman's post from 2014, and deferred the nomination of Bangladesh's Mustafa Kamal as vice-president. The recommendations create a new system whereby the presidency will be an ambassadorial role, appointed on a one-year rotational basis, while the chairman will lead the board.

"Though the resolution was brought up by India and England, that is their own view, which is yet to reach a consensus in the board. And I think some more debate has to be carried out on this (presidential issue) with a cool mind."

"Apart from this, there are so many things that are scrapped and never implemented - most notably playing bilateral series and obviously for many boards it's a concern. For Pakistan, hosting international cricket is the main concern. India don't always fulfill their bilateral commitments and they hardly play against the weaker teams. I think cricket needs to be expanded."