Howard fails in bid to become ICC vice prez

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard failed in his bid to become vice president of the International Cricket Council, after his name was withdrawn Wednesday over growing opposition from several Asian and African countries.

The ICC said in a statement that Cricket Australia and Cricket New Zealand, which jointly proposed Howard for the job, have been asked to submit a new candidate by Aug. 31. It said it would have no further comment until a press conference Thursday.

Cricket Australia and Cricket New Zealand said in a statement that they were "disappointed" Howard's nomination had not received more support. The two governing bodies continued to argue that Howard was the best man for the job since he was an international statesman with significant leadership and administrative skills.

"We remain convinced it is reasonable for his nomination to be supported by the ICC Executive Board and we are deeply disappointed by the position taken at todays meeting," the two organizations said in a statement.

Cricket Australia and New Zealand said they will now go back to their respective boards to "agree upon a combined approach."

The statement did not say whether they would resubmit Howard's nomination or propose a new candidate.

The announcement, though, appears to end Howard's bid to lead world cricket's governing body after he ran into stiff opposition from several Asian and African countries.

Howard's bid to become the next vice president, which would give him an unopposed path to the ICC presidency in 2012, is running into opposition from Zimbabwe and South Africa over his past criticism of the Mugabe regime and from Sri Lanka, which opposes his nomination because he's has no experience in cricket administration.

It wasn't supposed to end this way. But then again, Howard was never an easy sell.

A brusque conservative, he was Australian Prime Minister for 11 years before his Coalition government was swept from power in 2007.

And while he has been a regular attendee at test matches and describes himself as a "cricket tragic," he lacks experience as a cricket administrator.

His name should have been submitted in January but even Australia and New Zealand initially were divided over his selection.

Australia strongly supported Howard while New Zealand backed its former chairman and ICC representative Sir John Anderson.

The countries finally settled on Howard and the ICC executive board was supposed to rubber stamp the nomination in April _ but officials claimed travel disruptions due to the volcanic ash cloud in Europe made that impossible. Sources close to the ICC said it was delayed over the growing opposition on the board to Howard's nomination.

Zimbabwe, which in the past has labeled Howard racist and was angered at his successful efforts to keep it out of the Commonwealth, has spearheaded the opposition. They also accuse him of leading efforts to strip the country of its test status in 2003.

South Africa reportedly supporting Zimbabwe, though officials from Cricket South Africa refused to comment.

Pakistan and Sri Lankan officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said their boards were leaning against the nomination. But because of the implications on diplomatic relations, they are seeking advice from their respective governments.

"He has no experience running a sports body," Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman Somachandra de Silva said earlier this month, adding that Australia's Jack Clarke or New Zealand's Alan Issac would be better choices.

Former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told The Australian newspaper several weeks ago that the opposition from Zimbabwe was hypocritical _ since it had long called for countries to separate the game of cricket from politics.

"Their position now, as I understand it, is that Howard's not qualified because he's a politician and he's criticized Zimbabwe, so they bring politics back into it when it suits them," Speed, a Melbourne-based lawyer and also former chief executive of the Australian cricket board, told the newspaper. "I think the behavior of Zimbabwe, and South Africa supporting them, has been outrageous."