Independent match venues are ok as far as the International Cricket Council is concerned.

At its meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week, the ICC noted that the war on terrorism had resulted in global uncertainty and Afghanistan neighbour Pakistan was in the front line of world events.

That made touring there uncertain, a situation New Zealand has already opted out of.

ICC president Malcolm Gray said after the situation was discussed at the Malaysian meeting.

"We need to adopt creative solutions to support those affected and to overcome these problems. In agreeing to use independent venues, the Board was totally supportive of countries affected by recent horrific events and unanimous that every effort should be made to assist them," he said.

In the event of a match or series being unable to be played at the original home venue, it would be permissible to reschedule the games in the opposing team's country, or a neutral venue.

Whatever the situation, the games would be a home series for the original host nation.

On the other hand, boards guilty of failing to meet their requirements under the ICC Future Tours programme would face substantial fines.

These would be at least $US2million, which would be payable to the affected country. That country would also receive the two ICC Test Championship points on offer from the series. The offending country would be deducted two points, effectively a four point penalty.

If there are differences of opinion over the nature of the cancellation an ICC Disputes Resolution Committee would adjudicate. Reasons for cancellations being exempt from penalties would be: force majeure, natural disaster, war or where the safety of players and officials was proven to be at risk.

Gray commented: "This decision reflects the priority that world cricket has to give to protecting its calendar of fixtures. We have to be tough in protecting the integrity of the Future Tours programme from wilful disruption."

Other decisions included:

A three or four stage disciplinary system, with set penalties for each stage to combat the deteriorating standards of player behaviour.

Adoption of a One-Day International championship. Formats and structures will be considered for presentation to the March board meeting.

A decision on the venue of the next ICC KnockOut will be made by the end of February. India is the preferred venue, followed by Sri Lanka, Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

Prizemoney at the World Cup in 2003 will be $US5million with the winning team receiving about $US2.2million. The tournament will be played at 15 venues, 12 in South Africa, two in Zimbabwe and one in Kenya.

The ICC is to employ five regional security managers to assist in the anti-corruption battle.

Ethics committees will be created within all national teams.

Sports corruption legislation being drafted will be available to the governments of member countries for possible consideration as part of each country's legislation.

An anti-corruption manager will be appointed by the ICC to co-ordinate implementation and management of recommendations

Appointments to the umpires' and referees' panels will be made by the end of January and managers for both are being recruited at the moment.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed's strategic plan was approved as a blueprint for a fast track development of the ICC into a modern, powerful world governing body.

Kenya's application for Test status will be assessed by Zaheer Abbas, Andy Pycroft and Allan Border.

© CricInfo