ICC Annual Conference: All eyes on USA Cricket's future, Associate Member election for CEC berths

The International Cricket Council's (ICC) Annual Conference gets underway in Singapore on July 17 and many representatives have already reached the island country. Over the next few days, some of the most powerful names in cricket administration will be under one roof to take some key calls. One eye will be on the future of USA Cricket, with the cricketing body on the verge of getting suspended by the ICC.They were put on notice by the ICC last year and the recent developments, extensively reported by TimesofIndia.com, point in that direction. With the Los Angeles Olympics just three years away, the current state of cricketing affairs in the US is not inspiring those in the ICC. USAC chair Venu Pisike and CEO Jonathan Atkeison will be in Singapore over the coming days, and a big call on the future of cricket administration in the region is expected.Associate Member pollAs many as eight Associate Member (AM) candidates have thrown their hat in the ring for the three Chief Executive Committee (CEC) berths. The voting will be done on the opening day of the conference and it features some known names like Palani Gurumurhty of France, Sankar Renganathan of Sierra Leone, Anuraag Bhatnagar of Hong Kong, Tim Cutler of Vanuatu, Sarah Gomersall of Jersey, Gurdeep Klair of Canada and Stella Siale Vaea Tagitau of Samoa. Incumbent Sumod Damodar of Botswana is also contesting the polls.The candidates have already prepared extensive pitches for the voting members as no one wants to miss the opportunity of representing AMs on the all powerful CEC board. Palani, Renganathan and Damodar are three very experienced hands and have been on the circuit for a very long time. The trio will give a stiff competition to the other participating candidates as they have been in cricket administration for over two decades, and have had the taste of different regions during their journey.