JOHANNESBURG, March 21: World cricket’s senior administrators will probe several of the game’s hottest topics at a two-day executive board meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which started here on Friday.

Corruption, fines against various members, as well as the future of Kenyan cricket are just some of the items up for discussion.

Ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final at the Wanderers between reigning champions Australia and India, the ICC will start the process of working out what sanctions should be taken against member boards for various tournament infringements.

Before the event began, India’s players altered the terms of their contracts unhappy with ICC attempts to restrict their existing sponsorship deals.

And during the tournament both England and New Zealand boycotted matches in Harare and Nairobi respectively on safety grounds and so could be fined for causing the ICC to be in breach of its commercial contracts.

But India boss Jagmohan Dalmiya has made it clear that the ICC had to act across the board.

“What applies to one must apply to all,” Dalmiya, a former ICC president, said.

Both England and New Zealand were docked points for their boycotts but Dalmiya said penalties during the World Cup should have been harsher.

“Their run-rate should be reduced to zero. Teams should not be able to maintain the same run-rate by not playing.”

England’s protracted agonising over Zimbabwe caused widespread anger and sparked fears of a retaliatory boycott of both theirs and South Africa’s post World Cup tours of England

England cricket board chief David Morgan is due to attend an Harare board meeting of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union next week in a bid to stave off boycott threats.

But he does not expect a speedy resolution of the fines’ question.

“These are matters for discussion, negotiation and arbitration,” he said.

Kenya’s performance in becoming the first non-Test nation to reach the World Cup semifinals — they beat three Test sides on the way before bowing out against India — has strengthened their case for admission to the five-day game.

However, Bangladesh, which like Kenya has no first-class structure, have performed woefully since their admission in 2000 and this experience has made the ICC hesitant about admitting an 11th Test nation.

The ongoing refusal of politicians to allow series between India and Pakistan, as well as security-inspired boycotts by other nations in the light of world events, has disrupted the World Test Championship created in 2001 and this too will be reviewed.

Board members will also receive anti-corruption reports from Michael Beloff, chairman of the ICC’s code of conduct commission.

But as this is only the first of the ICC’s three annual board meetings — the next is the annual conference at their Lord’s headquarters in June — few decisions are expected this weekend.—AFP