'South Africa's stand swung ICC presidency debate'

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Mustafa Kamal has revealed that it was South Africa's stand that swung the ICC presidency rotation issue during the annual conference in Hong Kong last week. South Africa, defying the line set by India and others, provided unexpected and late support to Bangladesh and Pakistan to convince the ICC executive board to delay any decision over replacing the existing setup with an open candidature method.

Under the current system Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to nominate the ICC president and vice-president once Alan Isaac of New Zealand ends his term as ICC chief in 2014. The two countries were also helped by Sri Lanka, who stuck to the stand it had taken during the "circular resolution" by the executive board on May 31 seeking an amendment in the ICC constitution over the appointment procedure of its president.

"I went in with only one supporter [Pakistan]," Kamal said during a press conference at the BCB headquarters on Sunday. "Sri Lanka didn't vote from the first instance but while I was defending my case, South Africa came to my support. They were the fourth vote that really helped to bring it in our favour."

South Africa's stand convinced the ICC's executive board to not take the matter to the ICC full council, which could have ratified the move if eight Full Members and 38 of the 50 Members had voted in favour.

Between now and its next meeting in October, the executive board will discuss the matter and it will once again be brought to vote if necessary. By then the Governance Review Committee would have completed its look at all related matters - including the possibility of appointing independent directors.

Kamal also said that during their discussion this October, the ICC would only amend the rotation system and not end it. "In October, certain clauses will be amended so that bottlenecks - like the John Howard situation - can be tackled. But in no way will the rotation be scrapped."

The grouse in the local media was whether Bangladesh let go of the presidency too easily but Kamal clarified that he did not "sell the country" as was suggested, but did it only to buy time. "I also read that we have sold out to a certain board but that is not the case," he said. "I wouldn't have fought if I had given up the place already. I always maintained that I voted giving the condition that the rotation must not be scrapped until the cycle ends."

Apart from Kamal's clarification that he did indeed vote in favour initially, he also confirmed that it wasn't done to bargain with the Indian board but as a measure to bring the ICC presidency, ultimately, to Bangladesh. "When the resolution via circular came up, it didn't sit well with me. It was a strategic move to vote in favour at first," he explained.

Kamal was also asked why he didn't discuss the matter with the board. One director (Dewan Shafiul Arefin) confirmed to Dhaka-based Daily Star that nothing was talked about but Kamal said that the "resolution via circular" wasn't the end of the story. "Why didn't I discuss it with my board? Well there wasn't much time and I also knew that it would be discussed in Hong Kong."