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ICC’s Top Officials Chris Tetley and Claire Furlong Step Down
Two senior officials from the International Cricket Council (ICC) involved in organizing the Twenty20 World Cup in the US and the West Indies have resigned. Chris Tetley, the ICC’s Head of Events, and Claire Furlong, the General Manager of Marketing and Communications, have announced their departures from the organization, which came to light on Friday.
These resignations, following the conclusion of the World Cup and just a week before the ICC’s annual conference in Colombo, are reportedly linked to their involvement in the championship. However, insiders suggest that Tetley and Furlong actually decided to leave several months ago.
According to sources, both officials planned to depart at the end of the last commercial cycle but postponed their exits due to commitments related to the Twenty20 World Cup in the US. They officially resigned some time ago but will remain with the ICC for a few more months to ensure a smooth transition during a busy event period. Tetley and Furlong will also participate in the ICC’s Annual Conference in Colombo from July 19 to 22.
The ICC’s significant project, the World Cup in the US, particularly in New York, was overseen closely by the two officials. Many ICC members were preparing to discuss the issue of the New York games at the Colombo conference, where concerns were raised about the low-scoring matches due to the unpredictable nature of the drop-in pitches at the NY stadium. A key ICC board member addressed these concerns in a letter to other members.
The number of boundaries (fours and sixes), typically high in Twenty20 games, was notably low in the New York matches. Despite this, the Indian team, eventual champions, refrained from commenting on the pitch conditions, emphasizing that all teams faced the same challenges.
The US matches were organized by T20 World Cup Inc, which constructed a temporary stadium in Nassau County, Long Island, at record speed. The stadium was dismantled immediately after the New York leg of the tournament, which hosted eight out of the 16 scheduled games in the US.
