EDINBURGH: Saudi Arabia was unanimously elected as the International Cricket Council’s 39th Associate Member during its Full Council meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC) has been an Affiliate Member of the ICC since 2003 and, as per the 2014 census, boasts 4,350 cricketers and 80 dedicated cricket facilities.

Recently, the SCC signed a lucrative three-year deal with MoneyGram, which is also one of the ICC’s valued partners.

The SCC invested a large chunk from this sponsorship towards the staging of a domestic tournament in which 1,800 players from 106 clubs participated.

The SCC’s application for Associate Membership had been pre-approved by the ICC Development Committee during its October 2015 meeting, which was followed by a full application and an ICC inspection in March 2016.

Congratulating the SCC, ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said: “I congratulate Saudi Cricket Centre on becoming an Associate Member of the ICC and hope it will continue to play its positive and active role in promoting and developing the game in its territory.”

The ICC’s Full Council comprises 10 Full Members, 38 Associate Members and 57 Affiliate Members.

— ICC