<p>The sport's governing body formally proclaimed Sharad Pawar as its new president at the end of the five-day gathering and opened his tenure by sidestepping constant interrogation over the man who would have replaced him if his bid had succeeded.<br /><br />Pawar became the second Indian to become the ICC president, after Jagmohan Dalmiya was elected to the top post in 1997 and was at the helm till 2000.<br /><br />On Wednesday, the ICC asked both Cricket Australia (CA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC), who nominated Howard, to submit a new candidate by August 31. The vice-president will automatically become the president in 2012.<br /><br />“There are no political connotations to this decision,” the 69-year-old Pawar, who replaced Briton David Morgan, told reporters. “We will wait for Australia and New Zealand's recommendation.”<br /><br />Seated next to Pawar, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat also spent most of the news conference defending the board's decision.<br /><br />“The ICC Board does not have to give reasons, there simply was an insufficient number of delegates in support of the candidate so it did not go to a vote,” he said.<br /><br />Howard, 70, had been a contentious choice for the position, with Australian media reporting that his criticism of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's regime while Prime Minister had alienated him with both South Africa and Zimbabwe.<br /><br />His condemnation of world record wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action also met with anger in the off-spinner's native Sri Lanka.<br /><br />Lorgat refused to be drawn into a debate on how the ICC would react if Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket re-nominated Howard.<br /><br />“That’s speculative and we must wait for August 31 and see what comes forward,” he said.<br /><br />The ICC also used the meeting to advocate the use of technology whenever possible, including the Decision Review System (DRS) at next year's World Cup, and in all Test matches where available.<br /><br />In addition, the governing body awarded the hosting rights for the 2013 Champions Trophy to the England and Wales Cricket Board and looked into the possible development of day-night Test matches.<br /><br />Pawar, also a former BCCI chief, said the ICC would try to encourage the resumption of Indo-Pak bilateral series if there was government clearance from both sides.</p>
<p>The sport's governing body formally proclaimed Sharad Pawar as its new president at the end of the five-day gathering and opened his tenure by sidestepping constant interrogation over the man who would have replaced him if his bid had succeeded.<br /><br />Pawar became the second Indian to become the ICC president, after Jagmohan Dalmiya was elected to the top post in 1997 and was at the helm till 2000.<br /><br />On Wednesday, the ICC asked both Cricket Australia (CA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC), who nominated Howard, to submit a new candidate by August 31. The vice-president will automatically become the president in 2012.<br /><br />“There are no political connotations to this decision,” the 69-year-old Pawar, who replaced Briton David Morgan, told reporters. “We will wait for Australia and New Zealand's recommendation.”<br /><br />Seated next to Pawar, ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat also spent most of the news conference defending the board's decision.<br /><br />“The ICC Board does not have to give reasons, there simply was an insufficient number of delegates in support of the candidate so it did not go to a vote,” he said.<br /><br />Howard, 70, had been a contentious choice for the position, with Australian media reporting that his criticism of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's regime while Prime Minister had alienated him with both South Africa and Zimbabwe.<br /><br />His condemnation of world record wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan's bowling action also met with anger in the off-spinner's native Sri Lanka.<br /><br />Lorgat refused to be drawn into a debate on how the ICC would react if Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket re-nominated Howard.<br /><br />“That’s speculative and we must wait for August 31 and see what comes forward,” he said.<br /><br />The ICC also used the meeting to advocate the use of technology whenever possible, including the Decision Review System (DRS) at next year's World Cup, and in all Test matches where available.<br /><br />In addition, the governing body awarded the hosting rights for the 2013 Champions Trophy to the England and Wales Cricket Board and looked into the possible development of day-night Test matches.<br /><br />Pawar, also a former BCCI chief, said the ICC would try to encourage the resumption of Indo-Pak bilateral series if there was government clearance from both sides.</p>
