ICC Referees Commission to meet in South Africa

The ICC has confirmed that its Referees Commission will meet on 23rd February in Johannesburg, to address the issues raised by the dispute with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over penalties imposed on six Indian cricketers during last November's Port Elizabeth Test match between South Africa and India.

Membership of the Commission has been confirmed as Justice Albie Sachs of South Africa, chairman, supported by Majid Khan from Pakistan and Andrew Hilditch of Australia.

Despite objections from the BCCI the ICC has, after due consideration, decided to move forward with its original nominations. "There is a growing urgency for this Commission to meet to discuss the detailed and complex issues involved and to produce its report in time for the ICC Executive Board meeting in mid March," said ICC President Malcolm Gray.

"The objections raised by the President of the BCCI, Mr J. Dalmiya, have been carefully considered but we retain every confidence in the ability of this panel to complete its task in a thoroughly professional fashion.

Indeed, despite his concerns, Mr Dalmiya described these individuals as 'extremely respectable and brilliant in their own walks of life,' in a letter to the ICC dated 11th January this year," he added.

The ICC believes that the issue should be viewed in the wider context of the international game, rather than as a point of contention between the world governing body and the BCCI.

"While the events of Port Elizabeth were prompted by the reaction of the BCCI, the issue of Match Referees is relevant to all member Boards. The ICC is close to appointing a full time panel of five Referees and the Commission's report will be of direct interest to the individuals selected for that elite group and may well influence the way in which it operates in future," explained Malcolm Gray.

"It is very important that the Commission has the respect of all ICC members and we hope the BCCI will recognise its calibre and integrity and support it in the wider and best interests of the game," concluded the ICC President.

* Justice Albie Sachs is a member of South Africa's Constitutional Court, the country's highest legal judiciary and has been a member of the ICC's Code of Conduct Commission since its formation in 1999.

* Majid Khan is a highly respected former Pakistan captain and batsman who played in 63 Tests for his country from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s. He has served as an ICC match referee and is a past Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

* Andrew Hilditch completes a distinguished panel. He won 18 Test caps as an opening batsman and vice captain with the Australian team of the late 1970s to mid 1980s. He is an Australian Cricket Board national selector and a practising solicitor in Adelaide.

The ICC established a Referees Commission to examine and report to the Executive Board on the procedures relating to ICC Referees:

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