The Int'l Cricket Council admitted that the "draws for global tournaments are habitually fixed in order to get India and Pakistan into the same group." The draw for the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, which was revealed at the Oval Tuesday, "again throws the two countries together," with reigning champion India beginning its title defense against its historic rivals at Edgbaston on June 4. It is the "fifth tournament in succession where India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet in the group stage." Matches between the two countries "regularly attract global television audiences of up to one billion and although it had long been suspected that the ICC was doctoring draws to guarantee fans and broadcasters another iteration of the sport’s most lucrative fixture, this is the first time that the governing body has admitted it publicly." ICC CEO Dave Richardson said, "No doubt we want to try to put India versus Pakistan in our event. It's hugely important from an ICC point of view" (London TELEGRAPH, 6/1).
VOTE ON WOMEN: Royal Troon "will vote over whether to allow women members before hosting The Open this year, with the club saying last night that a consultation had shown more than three-quarters of members backed a change." Club captain Martin Cheyne said that a comprehensive review of membership policy was announced by Troon in Jan. '15 and was initially not due to be resolved until the "back end" of this year. But the "removal of Muirfield from the Open rota after a vote last month on admitting women members failed to achieve the two-thirds majority required appears to have accelerated the process" (LONDON TIMES, 6/2).
NETBALL POACHING: Australia's existing netball teams are "pushing for the right to re-contract their stars before the end of the season as debate heats up over player movement for the new national league." The five current Australian franchises "met with Netball Australia late last week for a series of in-depth discussions about the revamped competition, with the issue of player contracting a sticking point." Fearing the loss of talent to expansion teams such as Collingwood, "the clubs want to be able to lock their players away before the start of the official contracting period." But Netball Australia is adamant all teams should enter the new competition under the same conditions." Expansion teams "are not allowed to start talking to players" until Aug. 1. It is "still unclear if existing contracts for 2017 will stand" (HERALD SUN, 6/1).
LEAGUE BRIEFS ...
After "planning to introduce central contracts for India’s women’s cricketers," the Board of Control for Cricket in India is "all set to give green light" to the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami being allowed to play in tournaments like Women’s Big Bash League. India’s women cricketers "can now play in overseas leagues in Australia and England, subject to their contracts being approved by the BCCI." However, BCCI’s announcement "may have come too late," however, for Indian participation in the inaugural WSL, which will be held this year from July 30 to Aug. 14 (HINDUSTAN TIMES, 6/2).
The British Horseracing Authority has "taken steps to improve its disciplinary procedures in the wake of the collapse of a showpiece trial of a trainer." Jim Best’s conviction for corruption and four-year ban from training was "quashed after it was revealed that Matthew Lohn, the chairman of the panel which heard the case, had worked for and been paid by the BHA in another capacity and as a result there was potential for bias." It was "an embarrassing setback for the BHA, which has been successful in its appeal for a retrial to be heard in September" (LONDON TIMES, 6/2).
