The Imperial Cricket Conference Becomes Active — 1909 into the 1910s

Bailey had pushed the Imperial cricket idea since the early 1900s. The 1909 founding was the culmination of half a decade of correspondence.

Through 1910-1912 the ICC's main project was the Triangular Tournament — its first attempt at a multi-nation event.

The ICC was the brainchild of Sir Abe Bailey, the South African mining magnate who saw an Imperial cricket body as both useful and politically valuable. The founding meeting was on 15 June 1909 at Lord's, with Lord's, Australia and South Africa each represented. From 1910 the body began to function: it set tour rosters, negotiated tournament structures (the 1912 Triangular being its first big project), and standardised some laws. Membership remained limited to the three founders for the entire decade. India, the West Indies and New Zealand were not admitted until 1926; Pakistan, Sri Lanka and others much later. The Triangular's failure in 1912 reduced the ICC's credibility for years; only after the war did it begin to reassert itself. Through the 1910s it also formalised the rules of qualification — the residency periods, definitions of 'colony' eligibility, and the template that would eventually govern Test selection across the Empire.

“An Imperial cricket body must be the next step in the development of the game.”

The ICC's structure of three founding members lasted until 1926, when India, the West Indies and New Zealand were admitted.