Hong Kong "will be in line for more funding" from the Int'l Cricket Council after the disbanding of the Asian Cricket Council, said top official John Cribbin, according to Alvin Sallay of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. Cribbin, who was VP of the ACC before the regional body was shut down by the ICC last week, said that "funding for associate nations would be enhanced over the next seven years, even though there would be no preferential treatment to Asia." Hong Kong "receives annual funding" of more than $350,000 from the ICC as part of the high-performance program. The ICC "is reported to receive a record sum" of around $2B from '15-23 for its audio-visual broadcast rights from Star India and Star Middle East. Cribbin also said that "the game’s development in the region would not be affected by shutting down the ACC, which employed development officers" (SCMP, 4/20).
'A SHAME': In a separate piece, Sallay opined "it is a shame" the ICC does not share the vision and the passion shown by Hong Kong, "which is championing the push of cricket into China." While the Hong Kong Cricket Association, in its small way, is trying to promote the game in the mainland, the world governing body "is not really keen on globalising the game," as seen by its decision to shut down the ACC. HKCA President Rodney Miles "has been a strong advocate of China discovering cricket, but last Tuesday's revelation from Dubai will have a massive impact, and a negative one at that, on the game." The ICC is governed by the "Big Three" -- India, Australia and England. Former Board of Control for Cricket in India President N. Srinivasan "is the face of this big bad wolf and the decision is undoubtedly financially driven." The less money to hand out, "the more for the Big Three to divvy up." For people like Srinivasan, "the bottom line is profit." Cricket "is a money game to them and even though the ICC rakes in billions of dollars annually in television broadcasting rights, they want even more." Let's hope the fallout "will not impact greatly on the game's development in Asia." But I can already see a negative impact -- now that the regional body does not have a presence, "it will lead to a domino effect with events such as the Asian Games being affected" (SCMP, 4/18).
