It's thunder down under! The Australian cricket fraternity is seething over the rejection of their former Prime Minister John Howard's International Cricket Council's vice-presidency nomination even as new president Sharad Pawar rejected all talk of the game's governing body being divided

Sharad Pawar convinced that Howard issue has not split world cricket

"The ICC had shown itself to be ineffective and driven by politics. In every major decision, whether it's with bowlers and throwing, or with umpires, or with programming, they just don't get it. They are dead-set useless," he said. Bob Simpson, who was Hughes' captain in the 1977-78 Test series against India was critical of the game's bosses too. "I don't think it was about John Howard. I think it was about the politics of this particular organisation," he said.

Meanwhile, Pawar tried to put things in perspective. "The majority did not support him. Ultimately in any democratic organisation, there has to be support from the majority but that was not there in his case," he said on his return from Singapore on Thursday night.

The minister shrugged off suggestions that the Howard issue will divide world cricket. "I don't think so," he stressed. "We have discussed the matter individually and collectively with everybody including Australia, England and New Zealand. We took a collective decision."

Former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed has stressed that Pawar would be a part-time president considering his ministerial duties. Pawar didn't seem to have a time problem. "Fortunately, the ICC headquarters is in Dubai and Dubai works on Saturday and Sunday so it's a matter of a two-hour flight. There won't be any difficulty," said Pawar.

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