KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday received the Innovation award in the inaugural SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Federation and Association Awards.

The award was given in recognition of the ICC’s progressive approach including the successful introduction and integration of men’s and women’s Twenty20 international cricket, the use of on-field technology and its suite of pioneering digital and social media programmes, said an ICC statement issued.

“This is positive recognition for our proactive approach on and off the field. Twenty20 cricket has provided a tremendous boost to the popularity of our game and next year’s men’s and women’s ICC World Twenty20 in India promises to be our biggest event yet in the format,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson, said.

“We have several exciting technology projects on the go and the recent ICC Cricket World Cup saw the successful debut of a range of fan-focussed digital activities,” he added.

The ICC was shortlisted in three other award categories and shared the Innovation award with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Head judge Rachael Church (SportBusiness Intelligence) said: “The ICC is a worthy joint winner of the Innovation category alongside FIBA due to its pioneering work with technology and also the creation of new formats in its sport to engage with new fans. Many other sports have benefited from the ICC’s clear sense of direction and followed its lead in these particular respects.”

The judging panel comprised of 13 industry experts and included head judge Rachael Church (SportBusiness Intelligence), Peter Cox (Sport New Zealand), Lars Vallentin Christensen (Wonderful Copenhagen), Paul Dunphy (SportBusiness Intelligence), Abimbola Ilo (Integral, Nigeria), Paul Freudensprung (bcn events), Iain Edmondson (London & Partners), Ann Duffy (Ann Duffy Group) and Emy Ritt (Paris 2018 Gay Games).

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015

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