Cricket Australia softens bullish stance on ICC posts to maintain ties with India

Calcutta News.Net
Saturday 10th July, 2010

Cricket Australia (CA) is reported to have softened its bullish stance on persisting with former premier John Howard as its candidate for the ICC vice-presidency, but left a slim door open for the latter to maintain his bid.

Board members met yesterday and are now considering a pragmatic approach so as not to sour the relationship with India built over the past decade.

The meeting last night, however, failed to decide if Howard would be dumped for a new candidate but, tellingly, there was no emphatic statement to say Howard would be the only nominee put forward again.

While Mark Taylor has significant support as a possible replacement, he ruled himself out due to his heavy commercial and commentary interests.

Cricket Australia plans to talk to its New Zealand counterparts again in roughly a fortnight. Both nations have until August 31 to re-nominate.

The ongoing debacle surrounding the post has made it significantly unattractive to a number of potential replacements.

India, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies and Sri Lanka - vetoed Howard as the nominee last week. (ANI)

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