Melbourne (PTI): New Zealand's Greg Barclay was on Saturday unanimously re-elected as chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a second two-year term.

Barclay was unopposed following the withdrawal of Zimabwe's Tavengwa Mukuhlani from the process, and the ICC Board reaffirmed its full support to the New Zealander to continue at the helm.

"It is an honour to be re-elected as the Chair of the International Cricket Council and I would like to thank my fellow ICC Directors for their support," said Barclay on his re-appointment.

Over the last two years we have made significant strides forward with the launch of our global growth strategy that provides clear direction to build a successful and sustainable future for our sport.

It is an exciting time to be involved in cricket and I look forward to continuing to work closely with our Members to strengthen the game in our core markets as well as grow it beyond that, ensuring more of the world can enjoy cricket.

Barclay, an Auckland-based commercial lawyer, was originally appointed as the ICC Chair in November 2020. He was previously the Chair of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and was a director of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 2015.

He being elected unopposed also means that he had the backing of the mighty BCCI in the 17-member board.

I would like to congratulate Greg on his re-appointment as ICC Chair, as the continuity his leadership will provide is in the best interests of the sport. I therefore decided to withdraw my candidacy, said Mukuhlani.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru: As summer intensifies across Karnataka, the state government is preparing to initiate a special campaign to test drinking water across the state.

A directive is expected to be issued to all chief executive officers of zilla panchayats, instructing gram panchayats within their jurisdictions to conduct water quality tests, as reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday.

Karnataka has around 6,000 gram panchayats and their staff have been trained to conduct field tests. They check the water quality for 12 parameters, including potential of hydrogen (PH), chloride, fluoride, iron, nitrate, alkalinity, residual chlorine, and total dissolved solids. The hydrogen sulfide test is also conducted to check the presence of bacteria.

The testing has been made mandatory after several drinking water contamination cases have been reported over the years across the state, added the report.

Anjum Parvez, Additional Chief Secretary for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, said that water quality testing is routinely mandated twice a year—once before and once after the monsoon season.

“During pre-monsoon, groundwater level goes down and the quality of water has to be checked. Post monsoon, the flow of water is more, and the threat of contamination is not high, but even then water is tested. Potable drinking water is our priority,’’ TNIE report quoted Parvez as saying.

He also noted that panchayat development officers and engineers regularly inspect water supply pipelines for leakages.

The state government has taken disciplinary action in past cases involving supply of contaminated water and is now conducting special campaigns to prevent such incidents.