Melbourne, Nov 12 (IANS): The International Cricket Council (ICC) board on Saturday has unanimously re-elected Greg Barclay as the Independent Chairman of cricket's global governing body for a second two-year term.

Barclay was re-elected unopposed following the withdrawal of Zimbabwe Cricket Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani from the process, and the Board reaffirmed its full support of him to continue as Chair for a further two years.

"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. 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," commented Barclay on his re-appointment.

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 ODI Cricket World Cup 2015.

He had said after the ICC annual meeting at Birmingham in July this year that he was ready to contest for a second term as the Chairman. In 2020, Barclay had won the ICC Chairman elections by 11 votes to five, defeating then interim chairman Imran Khawaja as Cricket South Africa (CSA) voted in his favour in the second round.

"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," added Mukuhlani.