Former Australian PM will be an asset as ICC vice president, reckons the world's finest cricket writer
Former Australianu00a0PM will be an asset asu00a0ICC vice president, reckons the world's finest cricket writerJohn Howard's nomination as the next vice-president and eventual president of the ICC provokes a curious mixture of regret and hope. Regret stems from the overlooking of the admirable candidate put forward by New Zealand. Sir John Anderson's praises were widely sung and a more gracious neighbour might have acknowledged his obvious merits.
Of the insiders he was clearly the best qualified. Cricket Australia chose no such course. Nor did it hesitate to reach outside the game in search of a plausible alternative. As far as CA was concerned, Anderson was not the problem, the ICC was the problem. And Howard was the only possible solution.
Unsurprisingly, the Kiwis pushed hard for their man. Popes have been more easily elected then the regional candidate for high cricketing office. The boards remained deadlocked for months, even to the last hours, and Sir Rod Eddington, the appointed arbiter, could not find any middle ground. Eventually he made the call. Finally, the smoke cleared and Howard emerged, beaming and indestructible as ever. Unless they have gone gaga, long-serving prime ministers are not easily denied.
Although political enemies will disagree, the appointment is hardly a calamity. Only the most churlish will deny Howard his experience and acumen. This was a contest between heavyweights. Howard may be captivated by the bright lights of cricket but he is also familiar with the dark arts of manipulation. Better him than a hundred sweet talkers. Apart from anything else, he has nothing to lose. For the next four years he's going to be immersed in cricketing affairs and after that comes the paddock. He'll have earned it.
Convinced that the ICC is a basket case, CA believes Howard alone has the clout required to make it relevant.
At present, the ICC is the weakest of the bodies running major sports and the game suffers the consequences.
In no small part it is the fault of a complacent old guard that failed to give sufficient executive power to their creation. Lacking independent strength, ICC officers are forced to accept the verdicts of a small group of nations. It is ruled by money. All too often decisions are taken not on principle or with the game's interests in mind but on a squalid quid-pro-quo basis.
Since the ICC has little power it's hardly to be expected that the president and his deputy might have any significant sway. Hitherto the positions have been largely ceremonia. If Howard is to make his mark he will need to establish the authority of the governing body and exert influence in its upper echelons. And he will not be playing with amateurs.
Certainly the former PM will need every ounce of his energy and debating skills in his new position. At the lower levels, the game is served by numerous fine people eager to widen its appeal and prepared to work in all corners of the world. Cricket is growing apace as T20 catches the imagination. Around the board table, though, can be found a less distinguished mixture of wheelers and dealers. But, then, cricket is among the most fraught and fractured of games. Pakistan and Sri Lanka are listed in the six most dangerous countries for journalists.
Zimbabwe is a racket run by gangsters posing as liberators. England and Australia are fighting a war in Afghanistan, suddenly the game's 12th strongest nation. India is trying to deal with numerous threats. South Africa is endeavouring to build a new nation from the debris of a bloodless revolution. The West Indies seems to be going backwards and, anyhow, does not exist. Cricket is held together by love of the game and not much else.
Howard will start with various handicaps and advantages. His background bestows authority but his lack of cricketing expertise needs to be addressed. His failure to back the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa will be held against him as will his attitude towards India during the nuclear episode. On the other hand, he is sound and well informed on Zimbabwe and will not tolerate the eyewash advanced by the incumbents. And he's been around long enough to appreciate the importance of governance, the greatest issue in the game.
Howard is many things, but not naive. Doubtless he will spend his two years as Sharad Pawar's second in command familiarising himself with the terrain. He will locate the levers of power, find the skeletons in the cupboards, work out the liaisons and so forth.
At any rate the decision has been made. Now is up to the new man to make it work. Howard needs to arrive at the ICC with his full powers. Otherwise the game will soon regret that Anderson was not given the chance his record indicates he deserved.
This column first appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald
