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Two senior International Cricket Council (ICC) officials, who were directly involved in organising the recently-concluded T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies, have resigned. ICC's Head of Events Chris Tetley and General Manager of Marketing and Communications Claire Furlong have left the organisation ahead of ICC's annual conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where the chaotic conduct of the marquee event was set to be a major point of discussion.
As per Cricbuzz, a few ICC insiders say that the resignations are not a result of aftermath of T20 World Cup 2024. They had resigned several months ago with the end of the last commercial cycle. However, they stayed to conduct the T20 World Cup in the US and also ensure a smooth transition. In addition, the source said that Tetley and Furlong will be a part of the annual conference as well. The conference will take place from July 19 to 22.
However, according to CricketNext's report, the expenses during the USA leg have irked the ICC. Questions have been raised on the lack of planning and the inflation of ticket prices to compensate for going over budget.
“Money was being spent left, right and centre without any vision. They were spending thousands of dollars on activations at a single site and failed to attract encouraging responses. There was no planning whatsoever. Few individuals chose to spend money the way they wished to,” says a senior USA Cricket official.
Widespread criticism of bowler-friendly US pitch
Hosting the T20 World Cup in the US, especially in New York, was a major task for the apex cricket board. The two officials were involved with the preparation of New York venue which became the centre of conversation for being too bowler-friendly and producing low-scoring encounters.
New York was crucial in promoting the game where batters would have had a chance to showcase their power-hitting but it turned out to be the other way around. The drop-in pitches did not provide balance between the bat and ball.
New York hosted eight out of 16 matches in US. While the Indian team did not comment on how the pitches behaved despite playing three of their four first round group stage games, there was widespread criticism from former cricketers.
Soon after the group stage, the Nassau County Stadium at New York was dismantled. The modular stadium was built in a record time by an organisation called T20 World Cup Inc.
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