Nominations Committee scrutinise Pawar, Morgan for top job

Dubai, Feb 15 (UNI) The ICC Nominations Committee completed the preliminary scrutiny of BCCI President Sharad Pawar and Chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, David Morgan, who are in the fray for the world cricket body's top job.

The Committee met here yesterday to consider the two nominees to succeed current ICC President Percy Sonn when his term ends in 2008.

The Chairman of the ICC Nominations Committee AC Muthiah said the process was now in motion and he would be submitting the Committee's recommendation to the ICC Executive Board in Cape Town on March one.

''It was a very productive meeting that took place in a very friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both the candidates gave us a lot of their insight and vision on the development of cricket internationally.

''Now we will be submitting our recommendation to the ICC Executive Board so that the process can move forward,'' Dr Muthiah said after the six-hour meeting.

''This is the first time this method of selecting the ICC President has been employed. It is a fair and transparent process and one that we believe will ensure the most suitable candidate gets the job,'' he said.

A new system for appointing the ICC President was put in place in June 2005. The Nominations Committee, which is the first step of a three-stage process, will report to the Board which in turn will forward a recommendation to the ICC Annual Conference in London in June where final voting will take place.

In order for a candidate to be successfully voted in as ICC President, he must secure support from two-thirds of the ten Full Members at the Annual Conference.

The ICC Nominations Committee consists of Dr AC Muthiah (India and Sri Lanka), Bob Merriman (Australia and New Zealand), Mueen Afzal (Bangladesh and Pakistan), Stephen Camacho (West Indies and England), John Blair (South Africa and Zimbabwe) and Imran Khwaja (Associates and Affiliates).

The report of the committee will be confidential and is unlikely to be communicated until after the ICC Executive Board meeting.

UNI