(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) The inspection team from the ICC hinted on Tuesday that Oman is strongly poised to earn associate membership of the world body as early as this summer, after it wrapped up a two-day visit to Oman.
Tim Anderson, ICC global development manager, Neil Speight, chairman of the ICC's associate and affiliate members, and Imran Khawja, ICC director, inspected Oman Cricket's (OC) turf facility at Amerat and met with various stakeholders of cricket in the sultanate during their trip.
''From what I see after the inspection, Oman's bid for associate membership is impressive,'' Anderson said. ''We've had a terrific experience getting a look at the facilities here. We also believe in Oman's plans of developing indigenous talent. Oman is definitely going in the right direction. This summer should be crucial for them when the membership issue will be taken up by the ICC.''
Oman, currently an affiliate member of the ICC and ranked 23rd, applied for promotion to associate membership last year.
Anderson said his inspection team would submit its report to the ICC's development committee at its meeting in May in Papua New Guinea. The matter of Oman's membership would then be taken up in June at the ICC board's conference in Melbourne, Australia.
''Right now, the status of Oman's bid is 'pre-application', according to ICC terminology. A 'full application' will be taken up at the June summit. That meeting will be most crucial, it will be decisive. It will then be
Followed by a final round of inspection,'' Anderson said.
He added that Oman has become the ‘second most developed cricketing nation in the GCC', after UAE, which has been an ICC associate member since 1990.
The ICC officials also met with H E Sheikh Saad al Saadi, the Minister of Sports Affairs, and discussed ways to involve Omani schools and push cricket among local schoolchildren.
Accompanying the ICC team during the inspection were Iqbal Sikandar, development officer of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), and Duleep Mendis, former Sri Lankan Test star and current Chief Development Officer of OC.
''This has been a positive visit because we learned that cricket in Oman now has sources of funding other than just the ICC and the ACC. We believe OC has now become self-sustainable,'' said Anderson.
Crucially for Oman, which doesn't have full-time cricketers, it is not a drawback in its bid to become ICC associate member. ''It's not a factor, the national team doesn't necessarily have to comprise full-time cricketers,'' Anderson said. ''Let's not push too early, like going for full-time cricketers very soon. That would make things top heavy.''
Stressing on the need for taking cricket to schools in Oman, ICC director Khawja said, ''Schools form the feeder programme of any sport. Oman has to devote time towards developing its schools
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