The feedback from the ICC executive board meeting could not have ended up on a more positive note as regards cricketing relations between India and Pakistan. The executive board decided to write a letter to the Indian Government asking it to reconsider its decision not to visit Pakistan, and not to play against Pakistan even on neutral venues.

It was learnt through a highly credible source that the board has also decided to send a delegation to India in the hope of influencing its position. The executive board also resolved to use the good offices of the former South African President, Nelson Mandela, to pursuade the Indian government to change its position.

In another development, the report by University of Western Australia on Shoaib Akhtar has been circulated to the elite panel of umpires and match referees to guide them regarding his action. The executive board appears to be taking a sympathetic stance on the plight of the Pakistani speedster.

The board also appointed Lord Griffith chairman of the Match Referees Commission, with three executive board members to sit on this committee.

Meanwhile Lord Condon, the head of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, informed the board that for the last one year, the ACU had found no evidence of match-fixing anywhere in the world.

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