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History of ICC
1964 - 1988 - International Cricket Conference
In 1964, Pakistan suggested an expansion of the ICC in order to include non-Test playing countries. The following year at the July meeting, the ICC changed its name to International Cricket Conference and Pakistan's idea was acted upon - USA, Ceylon and Fiji being admitted to a new type of membership named Associate. South Africa did not apply to rejoin. The Netherlands, Denmark, Bermuda and East Africa became Associates in 1966. At the same meeting, after several years of debate, a 'throw' was redefined. The basic rules of ICC were amended in 1969.
The squads from the inaugural 1975 World Cup
At the 1971 Conference, the possibility of a World Cup was mooted and ideas requested from members; in the same year, the voting system was amended with full members (i.e. Test playing countries) having two votes each and Associates, one. A scheme to stage a World Cup (60 overs-per-side) in England during 1975 was approved in 1973; East Africa and Sri Lanka were invited to take part, as well as the six Test playing countries.
New Associate members were regularly added - Argentina, Israel and Singapore in 1974, West Africa in 1976 and Bangladesh in 1977. It was agreed to stage a competition for Associate members, with the most successful nations qualifying to play in future World Cups. 1978 was largely occupied with the controversy surrounding World Series Cricket, the matches staged by the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer, which attracted many of the world's best players and, for a time, threatened to de-rail official Test cricket.
The Bangladesh team celebrate their victory over Fiji in the ICC Trophy
In 1978, Papua-New Guinea joined as an Associate, but South Africa's application to rejoin was rejected. After several years of trying, Sri Lanka was raised to full membership in July 1981 and played their first Test in February 1982. The problem of whether to re-admit South Africa occupied much time at the 1981 Conference before their application was again rejected. 1982 saw the idea of an international panel of umpires for Tests being discussed. In 1984, a third category of membership was approved - Affiliate - with Italy being the first to gain admittance; Switzerland followed in 1985. New Affiliates in 1987 were Bahamas and France, followed by Nepal in 1988.