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

Melbourne, July 10 (ANI): 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)