By Alpha Barrie

Mercury International Chief of Operations, Beresford Bournes-Coker, who is the Immediate Past President (IPP) of the Sierra Leone Cricket Association, has been honored with an award by the International Cricket Council for his outstanding long service to Sierra Leone and world cricket.

The prestigious award was presented to the former Cricket Chief during the just concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Singapore, held from July 17th to 19th, 2025.

According to Francis T. Samura, the Chairman Cricket Sierra Leone who nominated his predecessor for the award on behalf of the association, ICC requested the nomination of twenty people across its member federations who have contributed towards the development of the sports both local and international for two decades.

“I submitted the nomination on behalf of Cricket Sierra Leone and the International Cricket Council (ICC) verified it and approved Bournes-Coker as one of the recipients of its prestigious awards,” he said.

The ICC annual general meeting saw discussions on various topics, including potential cricket reforms, the future of women’s cricket, and ongoing geopolitical issues impacting the sport. A key topic was support for displaced Afghan women cricketers, with progress updates on initiatives involving the ICC, BCCI, ECB, and CA. The ICC also reiterated its stance on USA Cricket, requiring comprehensive governance reforms. The program aims to deliver structured support through high-performance initiatives, domestic playing opportunities, and engagement at key ICC global events, including the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England.

In relation to USA Cricket, the ICC reiterated its previous position and confirmed that the organization remains on notice. USA Cricket is required to undertake comprehensive governance reforms, including but not limited to completing free and fair elections within a three-month period. The Board, however, reserves the right to take such actions as it deems appropriate.

The Board also confirmed the awarding of hosting rights for the ICC World Test Championship Finals for the 2027, 2029, and 2031 editions to the England and Wales Cricket Board, following a successful track record in hosting recent finals.

Additionally, Gurumurthy Palani (France Cricket), Anuraag Bhatnagar (Cricket Hong Kong, China), and Gurdeep Klair (Cricket Canada) were elected to the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) as Associate Member representatives.

Formal votes of thanks were recorded to outgoing ICC Chief Executive, Geoff Allardice, and to departing CEC members Sumod Damodar (Botswana Cricket Association), Rashpal Bajwa (Cricket Canada), and Umair Butt (Cricket Denmark), for their service to the global game.

Two new members joined the ICC family to take the total membership to 110 members with Timor-Leste Cricket Federation and Zambia Cricket Union formally becoming ICC Associate members.

The ICC AGM also formally adopted the annual report and audited accounts of the ICC Group for the year 2024 together with the auditor’s report.