Cricket Board of Maldives (C.B.M) President Mohamed Aflah, attended the International Cricket Council (I.C.C.) Annual Conference 2019 held at Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel on July 16th in London, England. [Official Event Photos]
The Conference brings together all the members of the I.C.C. to take part in productive meetings, to celebrate the global game and learn from each other.
President Aflah is very much part of the collective effort involving the whole sport to think big and think differently to deliver greater engagement of cricket within the Maldives and Maldives Cricket amongst the International Community – in particular noting that as of mid-July the Maldives Men’s Team has risen in the T20 Global Rankings.
The England & Wales Cricket Board (E.C.B.) Chairperson Mr Colin Graves met with Mr Aflah and discussed at length the various areas of cricket development from the Youth Development Programmes through to Women’s Cricket and the National squads. Mr Graves gave assurances that he and the E.C.B. would help Maldives Cricket in many ways. The meeting was concluded with a handover of a memento from C.B.M. to E.C.B.
Whilst in London, Mr Aflah was invited to meet with Her Excellency Dr. Farah Faizal, Ambassador of Maldives to the United Kingdom. The pair exchanged gifts and shared views and ideas on how the United Kingdom (of which, World Cup winners England are part of) in partnership with Maldives can work closely together for the development of Juniors, Youth, Women’s, coaches and technical aspects of cricket.
A constant positive guide to Maldives Cricket, Aminul Islam – I.C.C. Asia Development Manager, was also present at the conference and his experiences in developing associate nation cricket are a valuable source of ideas. The professional relationship nurtured between the Cricket Board of Maldives and Mr Islam over the past 3 years has helped the continued development and improvement of cricket throughout our nation.
The I.C.C. Conference was the first time Maldives Cricket has had chance to meet with the new Chief Executive of the I.C.C. Manu Sawhney. Manu became the 5th incumbent of the position succeeding David Richardson who held the post since 2012. Mr Sawhney will lead the I.C.C. delivering the Global Growth Strategy for the game in partnership with members and driving the future commercial direction of the sport.
As part of the ongoing special relationship between the C.B.M. and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (B.C.C.I.), President Aflah met with their first independent female director, former PepsiCo Chairperson and C.E.O. Mrs Indra Nooyi. They discussed the development of women’s cricket in Maldives and the development of junior cricket. Mrs Nooyi has an intension to visit Maldives in the near future to strengthen pledges to support Maldives Cricket.
Overall, the trip was a productive opportunity to highlight concerns, strengthen relationships, discuss development programmes and to celebrate cricketing successes – one of which was being present at one of the most memorable cricket matches in history as England defeated New Zealand in the 20198 Cricket World Cup Final in the most dramatic of scenarios.
President Aflah and the C.B.M. Executive Committee are striving to build the foundations of cricket in the Maldives that will, with careful planning and execution lead to our own national teams taking part in memorable international matches and being a shining light of encouragement to youngsters across Maldives to pick up bat and ball.
