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Former England international and ex-ICC match referee Chris Broad has opened up a Pandora’s box, which highlights the behind-the-scenes politics that might exist in the world of cricket. Broad, who featured in 662 internationals as an official, has revealed how the match referee was asked to ‘be lenient’ over a phone call in India, during an Indian national cricket team match, to spare the Men in Blue a fine for slow-over rate, who were running three to four overs behind end of the match, which accounted for a fine. ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 Semi-Finals Schedule in IST: Know Who Plays Whom in Last Four of WWC Cricket Tournament In an interview with The Telegraph, Broad did not delve much into the details, but did highlight how things involving India worked during a certain point in his career. The 68-year-old served as an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee between 2003 and 2024, standing in 361 ODIs, 138 T20Is, and 123 Tests. ‘India were three, four overs down at the end of a game so it constituted a fine," said Broad. "I got a phone call saying, ‘be lenient, find some time because it’s India’. And it’s like, right, OK. So we had to find some time, brought it down below the threshold. The very next game, exactly the same thing happened. He [Sourav Ganguly] didn’t listen to any of the hurry-ups and so I phoned and said, ‘what do you want me to do now?’ and I was told ‘just do him’, Broad claimed in an interview. Broad further explained how internally, things became weaker for the ICC umpires/match referees after certain people left, and India started pooling in all the money, and has ‘taken over’ the board, because it has become more political than before. ICC Suspends USA Cricket Board For Breaching Obligations As Member of International Cricket Council. Interestingly, a year before his last match referee gig for ICC, in 2023, Broad was reported to have been rebuked by the apex authority for posting a meme related to his son’s performance in the Ashes. Broad clarified that the former England opener wanted to continue as an ICC match referee, but the International Cricket Council did not renew the contract.
