By ICF Staff
July 1 2010

Wannabe ICC president John Howard, put forward by Australia and New Zealand as their joint candidate for ICC presidency, has been brushed aside by an overwhelming majority of ICC members.

It is perhaps revealing that England was the only ICC member country to accept Australia and New Zealand's nomination of the controversial ex-Aussie PM John Howard as ICC president.

The remaining 7 members rejected him as dismissively as the Aussie electorate in Australia's last election.

Although Australia and New Zealand feign bewilderment at the ICC decision, what is really bewildering is their provocative nomination of a deeply flawed man. 

Howard is not known for his background in cricket, of which he has none. Not as an administrator, certainly not as a player.

His forays into cricket are limited to his refusal to join the near-universal boycotting of the apartheid South African regime from the sport; his condemnation of Sri Lankan great Muthiah Muralitharan as a "chucker"; and his constant extralegal attempts to bar Zimbabwe from cricket during his time as Australian PM.

He is better known politically - for his support of Pauline Hanson, his treatment of asylum seekers, his revisionist history on the children overboard incident, his assault on Aboriginal land rights, his handling of the Cronulla riots under his watch (the last seems especially ominous in the light of the trauma Indian residents are now facing in Australia). And the attitude these incidents portray is hardly comforting. The subtle racial positions Howard adopted throughout his political career are widely recognized, and cricket was having none of it.

Cricket, already riven by continuous head-butting between the Australia/England/New Zealand bloc and the rest of the cricket world, did not need another version of Malcolm Speed running it (likely a far worse version of him.) Speed aggravated relations in cricket manifold, especially during the time he was joined by fellow-Aussie Malcolm Gray.

No thanks, Australia.

Go find someone more qualified -- we don't need your rejected PM candidate. Send him back into the wilderness and send us someone who is known to be a uniter rather than a divider.

Oh, and a bit of a background in cricket, other than attacking the greatest ever Test bowler as a chucker, would be nice.

John Howard rejected by ICC

Discussion started by Indian Cricket Fever (IP Logged), 01/07/2010 00:58

Indian Cricket Fever
01/07/2010 00:58

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010:07:15:17:27:30 by Birbal.

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rahul_dravid_2010
30/06/2010 22:38

Good riddence. This guy Howard is a real racist @#$%& bag. Evil even by Aussie standards. I am glad that the Asians and Africans gave him what he deserved. I hope he will remember this lesson and mind his own business without trying to dirty the game of cricket as well.

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Spirit of Cricket
30/06/2010 23:43

Great news!

Good riddance Howard - stay retired and out of sight.

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thirdman
30/06/2010 23:57

Mouth ?

Are you sure its not A$$ ?

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Spirit of Cricket
01/07/2010 00:01

Guess who wrote this?

"There were clear signs for months that Howard's candidature was unlikely to go through, but CA chose to ignore them. Cricket South Africa chairman Mtutuzeli Nyoka wrote to David Morgan, the then ICC president, pointing out that an "overwhelming number of directors were opposed to Howard". It was strong letter which accused Morgan of acting unconstitutionally, a charge Morgan denied equally vehemently. And the Sri Lankan board openly said that they would vote against Howard. Cricket Australia was within their rights to stick by their man. Howard himself made a trip to Zimbabwe, another known opponent, to lobby support. Evidently that mission failed.

Since Howard had no administrative experience in sport and his association with cricket was limited to his self-professed love for the game, it is reasonable to assume that Cricket Australia chose a career politician in recognition of the political nature of the ICC. And now that he has been eliminated by a political process, CA should cop it in the same spirit."

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Birbal
01/07/2010 04:38

yet CA say they will KEEP BACKING HIM... pray tell why?

Why keep backing a guy who is so DIVISIVE? It really would be BAAAD for cricket if he somehow were allowed to squeeze in...

Also shows why guys like Chris Broad, and Darryl Hair were kept on by ICC instead of let go... it's not like there is a shortage of Match Refs... or Umps...

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Max
01/07/2010 08:14

The article summed it up perfectly. It was the right decision by the ICC. Now Cricket Australia is making some noises about how this will affect their relationship with BCCI etc. Well it is their loss only

India - World Cup winners 2011!!!
Champions Trophy winners 2013!!!
Congrats to Indian team and all Indian fans!

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Australian_Pride
01/07/2010 12:27

I would not expect anything else from the criminals and trash from Africa and the sub continent that are ruining cricket. [www.smh.com.au]

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Max
01/07/2010 13:10

^ That is rich coming from an Aussie The truth is that Howard has antagonized several cricket boards with his comments and policies. No surprise that they have voted him out.

India - World Cup winners 2011!!!
Champions Trophy winners 2013!!!
Congrats to Indian team and all Indian fans!

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Martian
01/07/2010 14:18

I think Sharad Pawar pulled the plug on Howard quietly. May be he did not want another heavyweight near him!!

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rahul_dravid_2010
01/07/2010 15:30

Quote:

Australian_Pride
I would not expect anything else from the criminals and trash from Africa and the sub continent that are ruining cricket. [www.smh.com.au]

Well, you are entitled to your opinion. We may be 'criminals and trash'. But remember, we run cricket. We are the boss. So, get ready to continue licking our back sides.

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bantu
01/07/2010 16:32

Quote:

Australian_Pride
I would not expect anything else from the criminals and trash from Africa and the sub continent that are ruining cricket. [www.smh.com.au]

Well you are the one who descended from the criminal ancestry......

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Birbal
01/07/2010 16:42

Without the vision of Dalmiya and Modi...etc...

Cricket would a quaint little colonial pastime about as globally significant as Curling or Snooker

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thirdman
01/07/2010 22:43

Howard always looks like he is about to burst into tears.LOL.

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chak de Dilli
07/07/2010 14:36

This is one of the many after effects of the tarnished image of Australia. They themselves are to blame. People are wary of their bullying and racist activities. It;s not just cricket, it's image of the nation as a whole. I mean shoving Pawar by Ponting, Howarad calling chucker when he is prime minister, Ponting using mask of Symonds to frame Indians for being racists, racial attacks on Indians in australia, and guv's efforts to hide it under the carpet, Hanif etc... only happened in last couple of years...

Australia should be prepared for similar actions in other avenues as well.

New Zealand is better off disassociating itself from Australia. That will be very sensible thing to do.

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Birbal
07/07/2010 20:08

Quote:

New Zealand is better off disassociating itself from Australia. That will be very sensible thing to do.

NZ are already in that boat... I think they will be hosting Zimboks in Tests soon...

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