Lorgat hopes to 'grow test-playing nations'

New ICC Chief Executive hopes to 'grow test-playing nations'

New Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Haroon Lorgat says he hopes to grow the game beyond the existing 10 Test-playing members.

Lorgat, 47, succeeds Malcolm Speed when he steps down on July 1 following the ICC's annual conference in London. Lorgat said: "It will be a personal goal to try and make sure that we get the Test-playing nations beyond 10.

"You need to be in the detail and understand each country to put a timeline on how long that might take though." Lorgat said the game was in rude health. "International cricket is in a very, very healthy state. "There are contractual revenue flows through to 2015 so the greatest opportunity will be to maintain and in fact sustain the growth that the game has enjoyed in the last few years."

Can be very powerful
He said the economic power of India and the development of Twenty/20 cricket were opportunities to further expand the playing of the sport. "(Twenty/20) is a wonderful opportunity to grow the game," he said.

"If we cleverly use it at a domestic level to introduce new people to cricket and manage the balance between the three different formats, I actually think it can be very powerful."

Lorgat said part of his role was to nurture the ICC's relationship with the increasingly powerful Indian board.

Lorgat, an executive director of a South African investment company, was chosen a week after his compatriot Imtiaz Patel turned down the offer after being named the preferred candidate. - Reuters