DUBAI, July 10: The International Cricket Council will celebrate its centenary year by returning to the Lord’s for the organisation’s annual conference next year, ICC President David Morgan said.

This year, for the first time, the ICC had moved its annual gathering away from its former London headquarters and was held in Dubai.

“We had an excellent week in Dubai this year but I’m delighted to announce that the ICC Board has confirmed unanimously that we will return to Lord’s for annual conference week in 2009,” Morgan said in a statement.

“It is a perfect timing as it will allow Lord’s, which is ICC’s home for the last 96 years, to play a central role in our organisation’s centenary celebrations, as 2009 is the 100th anniversary of ICC. The centenary celebrations are expected to touch all 104 ICC Members at some point throughout the year and Morgan said they would reflect all that is good about the game. “The ICC’s centenary will be a time to look back at the legends who have shaped the game over the previous 100 years,” he said.

“It will also provide an opportunity to look forward and celebrate the thousands of volunteers who sustain the game’s grassroots and, at the same time, the ICC will use the year to highlight the special spirit of cricket on and off the field of play.”

Morgan also said he will spend most of the time of his two-year tenure at the helm of world cricket by meeting the officials of the member nations and their stakeholders. “We are a members’ organisation and so we need to know what type of ICC our members want,” Morgan said.

“Do they want a toothless tiger that is only useful to blame for any failings when things go wrong or do they want a strong governing body invested with the power to run, and make decisions based on the best interests of the game, and a body they can trust to do just that?

“Haroon Lorgat (ICC’s new Chief Executive Officer) and I will travel to Full Members, Associates and Affiliates over the next 12 months to seek some answers,” he added.

The ICC Chief also made it clear that he wants a two-way correspondence. “We also want it to be a two-way street. We want to meet Boards and key stakeholders including players, former players, media, sponsors, even governments. “

“We want those stakehol-

ders to know what the ICC does and to ask if we can do anything differently or better,” he said.

—Agencies