The decision of the ICC members to reject the nomination of John Howard by the cricket boards of Australia and New Zealand for the International Cricket Council presidency is a disgrace and an insult to both countries. Rest assured, he was not rejected because of his lack of experience as a cricket administrator, his strong opposition to Robert Mugabe's disastrous regime in Zimbabwe or his outspoken views about Muttiah Muralitharan's controversial bowling action. There is more to it than that.

To put his position into context, Howard did not seek this role. Cricket Australia approached him and asked him to agree to his name being put forward as the joint nominee from Australia and New Zealand under a system that provides for the top position in world cricket to be rotated around the major countries. Unlike many other former PMs and premiers, Howard has not gone down the path of the corporate board. He was genuinely interested in doing this job. Cricket is his passion and he thought he could bring new attributes, wisdom and experience to the position and to the game. He would have had two years as vice-president to learn the ropes before he became president. He was prepared to work full-time in the role.

The rejection is a symptom of the wider malaise that afflicts world cricket and its dysfunctional governing body. The current system of rotating the ICC presidency is the fourth such system to have been introduced and failed since 1995.

Under previous rotation systems, Australia and New Zealand have accepted nominations from other countries for the presidency when they clearly had strong reservations about the candidates. They expected the same respect for their candidate and they did not get it. Instead they and Howard were insulted.

Howard has been rejected because his appointment would provide ICC with strong leadership that would thwart the ambitions of several current administrators to downgrade and devalue the role of the ICC. Howard would have stood in their path. The role requires strength of character - a leader, diplomat, statesman and politician. The ICC board is as political as any political party. The countries that voted him down want a compliant figurehead who will do their bidding.