BCCI may oppose Howard's candidature as ICC VP

Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard's candidature as the International Cricket Council (ICC) vice-president appears to have run into rough weather with the BCCI apparently being reluctant to back him in the executive board meeting on Wednesday.

BCCI is drawing up its strategy for the ICC executive board meeting where Howard's nomination will come up for discussion.

Former BCCI president Sharad Pawar is also set to take over as the ICC president, becoming the only second Indian after Jagmohan Dalmiya to occupy the coveted post, after the meeting on July 1.

Although there was no official word on the BCCI's stand, it is learnt that the Indian Board is not too keen to support Howard's candidature because of his past record and statement.

The BCCI top brass is currently in Singapore for the meeting but a source said that such a development is very much a possibility.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had sought the advice of the government on the matter, which gave it full autonomy to decide on the issue and sources said PCB would follow their Asian counterparts when the ICC decides this week.

If India does go against Howard, it is likely that they will mobilise support from the other Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, which will make the former prime minister's task all the more difficult.

Howard needs seven out of the 10 votes to win the election but has few friends among the members.

South Africa, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have openly opposed the nomination of Howard for the vice-president's post and the former Australian premier recently visited Zimbabwe in a bid to garner support for his nomination.

South Africa, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka don't support Howard's nomination as according to them he is a politicised candidate who has made several disparaging and controversial remarks in the past against cricket playing nations.

Howard's candidature was jointly put forward by Australia and New Zealand following a drawn-out selection process.

The ICC vice-president serves a two-year apprenticeship before becoming president of the game's governing body, meaning Howard would be the top administrator of cricket in 2012 if he gets elected.

Cricket Australia has already told their Zimbabwean counterparts that if they do not support Howard's bid they would not host the bilateral A-series next year that would help the African nation re-enter top level Test cricket.