ICC board will hold on to WADA

Senior officials on the ICC's decision-making executive board are unlikely to support any radical suggestion from the BCCI to shun the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and opt instead for a cricket-specific code without off-season testing. However, they will endorse the Indian board's objection to the contentious 'whereabouts' clause in the anti-doping code and ask the ICC to try and work out a practical solution with WADA during a year-end review.

The ICC board is likely to discuss the issue soon over teleconference, rather than wait for their next scheduled meeting in early October. And officials from a majority of the ICC board constituents, including Australia and South Africa, have confided that they would support India fully on the 'whereabouts' issue, but would like to remain WADA-compliant for important reasons, not the least of which is the question of government support.

For instance, government funding for grassroots cricket programmes in England requires the English board to be WADA-compliant and Australian legislation requires the same of its national sporting organisations. The BCCI, which will need the backing of these three major boards to make any headway on the issue at the ICC level, is an autonomous organisation that operates independently from India's sports ministry.

The consensus which has emerged is that the ICC board would ask the governing body to raise India's concerns with WADA and hopefully, try to work out a cricket-specific solution when it meets officials of the anti-doping watchdog for a year-end review. Cricket Australia, for one, wants a "practical solution" but what remains to be sorted out, though, is whether India's players should continue to be exempt from complying with the norms till then.

No whereabouts

• Player associations share BCCI's concerns about WADA's whereabouts clause:
• The level of information required to be provided to comply with the whereabouts requirements was our main issue and we found that impractical -- Paul Marsh, Australian Cricketers' Association
• The issue is the whereabouts clause and England players are concerned about security and privacy -- Sean Morris, Professional Cricketers' Association
• Practical and privacy concerns persist for our players and we want the ICC to address them -- Tony Irish, South Africa Cricketers' Association
• The whereabouts clause administration is cumbersome and very difficult for those in team sports to manage -- Heath Mills, New Zealand Cricket Players' Association.
• Our concerns are similar with regards to the whereabouts clause -- Graeme Labrooy, Sri Lanka Cricketers' Association.