Not always do apex bodies for sport undertake a serious intellectual exercise. In fact, this is one of the main reasons why there remains a cardinal gap between academia and the world of sport. While scholars attempt to envision the broader picture, the lack of integration with the thinking of the practitioners and the policy makers is often evident. Discussion and debate, the way forward in most cases in contemporary societies, is absent between sports scholars and sports administrators.

It is in this context that the International Cricket Council Centenary History Conference, to be held in two weeks at the University of Oxford, assumes great significance. As is well known, the International Cricket Council is celebrating its Centenary this year. It is, therefore, organising a series of events designed to celebrate the spirit and global diversity of cricket across its 104 member countries; to celebrate the heritage of cricket; and to reflect upon the past, present, and the future of cricket as a global sport.

It is in this context that the ICC Centenary Conference on 100 Years of Cricket is being organised by the International Cricket Council at the University of Oxford, one of the world?s great universities. The conference will be held in two of Oxford?s most distinguished colleges: St Antony?s, which will host the sessions and discussions, and St John?s, which will provide accommodation for all the participants.

The plan for the conference was fist mooted when I had submitted a proposal to the former ICC CEO Malcolm Speed in 2007. It was formally ratified by the ICC Executive Board in 2008 and has since moved several stages to where we are today. Attempt has been made to ensure participation from all spheres, media, players, scholars and policy makers. It has also been a conscious policy to make the conference truly international, representing the concerns and issues of the cricket fraternity as a whole.

The conference is unique. In that it will bring together top cricket administrators, cricketers noted for their challenging and deeply-considered reflections on the past, present and future of the game, leading commentators from the media, academic experts on the study of cricket, and leading figures involved in the curatorship of the heritage of cricket. Some of the participants include Sunil Gavaskar, who will be in conversation with BBC journalist Mihir Bose and myself in a panel titled ?Half a century of Cricket.? Another fascinating panel to look forward to includes former greats Clive Lloyd, Bob Willis, Sourav Ganguly and Angus Fraser who will be in conversation with Giles Clarke, Gideon Haigh and Peter Hutton. The theme for this panel is, ?It?s not like it used to be? ? The Changing Game?.

What the conference aims to drive home is that cricket is a global phenomenon with an unmatched ability to unite people, nations, and continents in a spirit of both passionate competition and mutual respect. Throughout its history, cricket has been the most beautiful and compelling of games and a most sophisticated and sensitive lens through which to understand society.

As Sir Vivian Richards has observed: ?I have always emphasised that cricket is more than a sport; it is a social and a political process?. It is this profound and acute understanding, epitomised in CLR James?s famous aphorism, ?What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?? that provides the conceptual foundation for the conference. The conference will also explore the history of cricket in all of its diversity through an examination of key episodes such as Bodyline, the Packer era, and the emergence of new forms of the game such as Twenty20; through discussion of social processes involving identities structured around class, race, and nationality; and through consideration of the role of the media in the social construction of the game. A central over-arching theme will be the extent to which, understanding the history and heritage of cricket offers usable knowledge for national and international administrators in meeting the contemporary challenges that face the game as it continues to provide the basis for consuming passions, for lifelong friendships and for the promotion of greater global cultural understanding.

Looking forward to two intense and fruitful days of cricketing discussion.

The writer is a cricket historian