Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has been put forward by the Australian and New Zealand cricket board as their nomination for president of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

David Morgan, the current ICC president, is set to step down later this year to be replaced by India's Sharad Pawar, who will serve a two-year term as part of the international governing body's rotation policy. An Australasian candidate is due to fill the position for a two-year term from 2012, and both Cricket Australia (CA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have announced Howard as their preference for the role.

Howard was named as the national governing bodies' preferred candidate, following a joint selection process that also involved businessman Sir Rod Eddington as an independent member. A joint CA and NZC statement said: "The ICC faces significant and complex internal and external challenges in its quest for cricket to become a genuinely global sport. Australia and New Zealand considered a number of distinguished candidates of global stature before deciding to invite John Howard to consider the role."