ICC chief Sonn dies

ICC president Percy Sonn, who was critically ill for the past few days, died in Cape Town today. Sonn, 57, was admitted to the Durbanville clinic in Cape Town on Monday after developing complications from a colon surgery. A former president of the South African cricket board, Sonn took over as ICC president from Ehsan Mani of Pakistan in June 2006. He was the first African to become the head of the sport’s world governing body.

His tenure, which was original to end in 2008, was extended till 2009 after the Executive Board had a split vote between Indian Cricket Board chief Sharad Pawar and ECB head David Morgan last year.

Sonn was the sixth person to head the ICC, following Colin Cowdrey (1989-93), Sir Clyde Walcott (1993-97), Jagmohan Dalmiya (1997-2000), Malcolm Gray (2002-03) and Ehsan Mani (2003-06).