ECB defends ICC decision to give India, Oz, England 'more power' in cricket

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has defended the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to give Australia, England and India more power in the sport.

It was announced that a new ICC executive committee would be established to include representatives from the ECB, Cricket Australia (CA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), although the plan has received widespread criticism with some suggesting the 'Big Three' will take over at the expense of the other cricketing nations.

According to Sport24, ECB chairman Giles Clarke has defended the decision, saying that the as the ICC needs to go to market this year with their broadcast and sponsorship rights for the period 2015-2023, therefore they have asked India, Australia and England to come up with a proposal that will guarantee the participation of all nations in those events.

Stating that without the guarantee the rights would be seriously devalued, Clarke denied that only Australia, England and India would benefit from the changes and said all countries would earn more through the proposal, adding that as India's contribution to world cricket is extremely important, so it should be recognised.

Defending the decision to replace the World Test Championship with the Champions Trophy one-day tournament that was originally dropped from the schedule, Clarke said that Test cricket has never been a knockout format.

Clarke also said that it was very difficult to find a formula for a short, sharp competition that would appeal to cricket supporters and also broadcasters and sponsors, adding that countries that have 'finals' for their four-day competitions have found they often fail to produce exciting cricket.