England were drawn with Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the runners-up of next year's ICC competition in group A. The top three teams will play the top three in group B for semifinal places. There will be 30 matches in the first round, with each country playing the other five in their group, nine games in the second round and 42 matches in all, with a final at Lord's in June.

Having postponed for a year the tricky and potentially explosive question of who should succeed Walcott as chairman next year, the ICC were, in effect, opening the bidding yesterday for the allimportant television money. The intrusion of Sky television cameras into one of the most private rooms in the pavilion was symbolic.

The World Cup is the ICC's competition now and although games will be played in daylight next time, the cricketers will be in coloured clothes. That is shameless, spurious commercialism. It will convert not one new young cricketer, but there will be spin-off profits.

By being drawn in the same group as Sri Lanka, the top seeds, England, who were seeded eighth as a result of their poor showing in India and Pakistan last winter, have avoided the country who would on present form be favourites, the second seeds, Australia.

That was one small consequence of the wider debate which formed the backcloth to this year's meeting: the expansion of the game into new lands.

Recent form suggests that England are inferior to Sri Lanka and South Africa but that they should have the measure of India, Zimbabwe and whichever one of 22 countries finish as runners-up in the qualifying ICC tournament, which is being held in Malaysia from March 23 to April 12 next year.

The competition's sensibly revised format will avoid the plethora of meaningless games which pleased only the organisers of the last tournament on the sub-continent. Details of fixtures, venues and points available in the first two rounds will be announced after the televised ICC final in Kuala Lumpur. Nepal, who were elected as the 23rd associate member country, were too late to take part next time.

That was one small consequence of the wider debate which formed the backcloth to this year's meeting: the expansion of the game into new lands. There was evident resentment felt by some Test countries, English officials not excluded, that countries where the game is a minority interest already have too much say in the affairs of world cricket. The feeling amongst the associates, represented by Joe Buzaglo, of Gibraltar, and championed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, of India, is that the big fish have not done enough to help the small ones to grow.

Buzaglo will be a member of the development committee established at the meeting under the chairmanship of Dr Ali Bacher, of South Africa. The other members are Julian Hunte, of the West Indies, Ehsan Mani, of Pakistan, Krish Mackerdhuj, of South Africa and the chief executive, David Richards. They will make recommendations to the 1997 conference as to how each of the senior nations might do more to encourage the game in countries within their sphere of influence. Holland's participation in the NatWest Trophy is one small example.

There is to be a ``change of emphasis'' towards the ``better'' umpires being appointed more often.

A MAJORITY of the associates voted for Dalmiya in the first ballot for ICC chairman when Walcott's official three-year term ends next July. Krish Mackherdhuj, of South Africa, withdrew when neither of these two, nor the third candidate, Malcolm Gray, of Australia, received the necessary two-thirds majority from the nine Test-playing countries, but when neither Dalmiya nor Gray got the necessary six senior votes, Walcott ordered a new election next year.

Partly mindful of another possible stalemate next year, the Council agreed a small review committee under the chairmanship of the New Zealand banker Sir John Anderson to review all the ules of the ICC. These have already been changed in various ways as the organisation has become more political.

The first meeting of Test captains before the World Cup in Calcutta last February was rather overshadowed by the Sri Lankan security crisis, but it was deemed to be valuable nonetheless and the captains will meet again in London next May. Before that, in Bombay in November, there will be a conference for some 15 of the regular referees of Test and international cricket.

There was general agreement that the standard of umpiring in Tests has been very variable but the remedy now proposed is a cautious one. There is to be a ``change of emphasis'' towards the ``better'' umpires being appointed more often.

To this end a revised, simplified form of assessment will be used by referees and captains when, as they always have, they review the performances of umpires after each major match. The new forms will be used from August and the ICC hope the same assessments will be used in domestic cricket so that everyone is familiar with a common system.

It will in future be standard practice everywhere for television replays to be used when there is any doubt about whether a ball has crossed the boundary. This apart, there are no plans to extend the use of replays to help umpires. Bowlers suspected of throwing by any umpire will in future, however, be subject to a review panel made up of former Test players.

TO deal more decisively with these and other contentious issues, such as the bribery allegations over which the ICC previously felt they had no power to act, a full members' executive committee has been established to provide greater support for the chairman and chief executive. Its members are still to be decided but each of the Test countries will have one delegate.

Geoff Boycott's televised pitch inspection will not be outlawed by a new playing condition introduced by the ICC. In future, only the captain and coach will be allowed to walk on and inspect the wicket, though commentators such as Boycott will still be allowed to perform their morning ritual.

World Cup Draw

GROUP A

Sri Lanka, India, South Africa, England, Zimbabwe, runner-up of ICC Trophy.

GROUP B

Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, New Zealand, ICC Trophy winners, ICC Trophy third place.

Each team play five round-robin matches. Top three teams in each group enter second stage group of six teams. Top three teams in group A play top three teams in group B. These nine matches determine final league positions.

Top four qualify for semi-finals - first against fourth, second against third.