I don't subscribe to the "Big Three" concept at all: ICC chairman Greg Barclay

Greg Barclay has recently been appointed the chairman of ICC
Greg Barclay has recently been appointed the chairman of ICC

The concept of 'Big Three' doesn't exist for new ICC chairman Greg Barclay, who firmly believes that both bilateral as well as ICC events, can harmoniously co-exist to help the game's ecosystem.

The 'Big Three' has been a popular notion where India, Australia, and England earn the lion's share of the global body's revenue.

In the run-up to the election, New Zealand's Barclay said a perception was created that he gives importance to bilateral cricket over "everything else" but that, he says, is far from the truth.

"There has been a lot of misrepresentation in the media that I am in favour of bilateral cricket over world events. But the fact is, of course, I am an advocate of bilateral cricket, it is the lifeblood of cricket in all countries..." Barclay said in a video posted the official website of ICC
"Countries playing each other on a regular basis, sustained competitive relevant competition is what drives fan engagement. It is what drives the development pathways, it is a vital part of cricket."

India are a slightly different case: Greg Barclay

Moreover, speaking about the distribution of revenue among the country boards, Barclay reckoned that England and Australia receive the same amount of ICC money as any other nation. Barclay, however, stated that India is a different case as they are a huge cricketing force and ICC need to deal with them using a different approach.

“While it was an unjust split, New Zealand and other members were still better off than what they had been previously. I think what was done under Shashank was - they rolled back the resolutions and reduced the influence of the three countries which was the right thing to do. Now, there has been no concept of “Big Three” for the last four years or so, and I know for a fact that England and Australia are very much of that view. They get the same amount of money as everyone else and that’s never really been an issue.” Greg said in a statement
India are a slightly different case, they’re a huge cricketing force, we need to have them in the tent. With 1.3 billion people and the stuff they do around cricket, I think we just need to address some of their issues differently. There are a lot of positives to come out of what they do as well as any perceived negatives - The newly-appointed ICC chairman concluded.

It was announced that the ICC had elected Greg Barclay as its new chairman in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The New Zealand Cricket head received the crucial 11th vote from Cricket South Africa after a second round of voting, beating Imran Khwaja, in the process.

Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download Cric Rocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more!

Quick Links

Edited by Habil Ahmed Sherule