Reports: Cricket Australia officials received cash for attending ICC meetings

The Australian media has made a startling revelation, revealing that Cricket Australia (CA) officials were receiving “wads of cash” for attending International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings at the headquarters in Dubai.

The report has stated that the CA bosses used to receive cash allowances from the governing body before the surprising practice came to an end last year. The CA officials used to receive cash allowances of US$500 per day (AUD 696) for attending the ICC meetings in the gulf country.

But the practice came to an end last year after concerns were raised over the same internally, according to The Age. Michelle Tredenick, the chair of CA’s People, Culture and Ethics Committee, wrote an email to the other CA directors on October 14, 2019, to make them aware of the practice.

“… we have also taken a diff approach to the provision of travel allowances provided by the ICC to directors travelling on ICC business — previously the chair and the CEO generally. These were previously paid in cash directly to person. We have agreed that they be paid to CA instead and all expenses be paid by CA through corporate credit card processes,” the email said according to the news outlet.

“This is better governance. At the same time for the chair we have instituted (paid by CA) an allowance of 5k per trip to compensate for time away from work/business whilst overseas on CA business, which can be considered throughout the year and is over and above the Chair duties generally,” it added.

Michelle on CA chairman Earl Eddings:

In the same email, Michelle further revealed how CA chairman Earl Eddings would have his salary increased from $204,000 to $250,000. She stated that Eddings’ salary increased after a remuneration review before stating that he was also given an additional allowance of $5000 per trip to an ICC meeting.

According to the rules, Eddings used to receive $500 per day in cash from the ICC when he attended week-long meetings. ICC directors from member nations around the world got the same amount from the ICC while the CEO and other non-ICC directors were handed $125 ($175) per day.

The report further quoted a CA spokesperson as saying that Eddings paid back less than $3,000 of allowances received over a 12 to an 18-month period when a CA policy was introduced around the payments in July 2019.

The report also stated that former CA CEO Kevin Roberts had brought the practice to the authorities’ notice after attending his first ICC meeting last year. Eddings, on his part, however, insisted that along with Roberts, he brought it to the board’s attention.

“I was the one who came back to the board with Kevin and said ‘listen this is how it’s been going on for 10, 15 years, it’s all above board, I just don’t feel comfortable getting cash,” Mr Eddings said. “I was the one with Kevin who changed the process. He and I did it together … we came back to the board with a recommendation.

“Not that there was anything wrong, it just didn’t feel quite right getting envelopes of cash, even though it was a process from the ICC,” he added.