Cricket Australia not to renominate Howard for ICC post, backs Kiwi cricket chief

Melbourne, July 30 (ANI): The 14-member executive board of directors of Cricket Australia on Friday decided not to renominate former Australian Prime Minister John Howard for the post of vice-president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), opting instead to back New Zealand Cricket chairman Alan Isaac.

Following the rejection of Howard by the ICC, Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket had been asked to renominate another candidate by August 31.

If elected, Isaac will serve as the ICC vice-president for two years before taking over as ICC president from India's Sharad Pawar in 2012.

Cricket Australia, however, has placed on record its disappointment at Howard's rejection, re-affirming that they believed that former prime minister was the best candidate available for nomination for the position of Vice-President of the ICC.

"That the board unanimously reaffirms the credentials of John Howard to be the Australian and New Zealand nominee for the position of ICC Vice President. The board is disappointed and most concerned by the ICC Executive Board's lack of support of his nomination and regards it as completely unacceptable that no reason has been provided as to why he has not been accepted. In the circumstances, the CA Board is not prepared to nominate any other candidate for the role," Cricket Australia said in a media release on Friday.

"The CA Board accepts that the New Zealand nominee, Alan Isaac, is eminently qualified to fill the role of ICC Vice President and President, and given the stance of the ICC Executive Board with the nomination of Howard, will support his name being forwarded to the ICC for ratification," it added.

CA chairman Jack Clarke said the CA Board remained disappointed that the joint Australia-New Zealand nomination of Howard had not been supported by the ICC Board, particularly as Australia and New Zealand had complied with the rotational ICC Vice Presidential nomination process.

"We still have been given no official reason why a strongly-credentialed candidate of Mr Howard's qualification's, skill and stature was not supported," he said.

"We are not prepared to suggest another candidate but given it is clear Mr Howard will not be supported, we clearly have to consider a new approach. Accordingly, we are pleased to support New Zealand Cricket's suggestion that Alan Isaac be nominated for the role," Clarke added. (ANI)