In what looms as a significant blow to his ambitions, however, it has emerged that CA will not support his candidacy, and it is believed Clarke has been told as much. ECB chairman Giles Clarke, ECB Chairman at ICC headquarters in Dubai. Australia's refusal to vote for Clarke, who is chairman of the ICC's finance and commercial committee and holds a ceremonial post as president of the England and Wales Cricket Board, will be seen as the latest sign of a pending shift away from the tripartite rule of the game and the revenue-sharing model that rocked world cricket when it was introduced in 2014. The governance changes approved nearly two years ago guaranteed the Indian, Australian and English boards three of the five seats on a powerful new executive committee and a higher percentage of ICC revenue than other countries, with India far and away the major beneficiary with a 22 per cent share. If that framework was set up in recognition of the majority portion of cricket-generated revenue created in India the positions of those ruling the game's most powerful boards have changed markedly since then.

While the dismal performance of the West Indies in Australia this summer has heightened concerns for the future of the international game and Test cricket in particular, opposition to the revenue-sharing model has also gained traction in India itself, with new BCCI president Shashank Manohar on record arguing against the present division of funds, saying: "You cannot make the poor poorer and the rich richer, only because you have the clout". Manohar is the ICC chairman but only until June when an election is held for the top job. The parameters are expected to be set for that poll in Dubai this week, with the London Telegraph reporting that the new chairman will have to be independent of any nation's board. The requirement of independence has been pushed by Manohar and comes after his predecessor, N Srinivasan, was forced to quit the BCCI presidency and ICC chairmanship last year after being found by India's Supreme Court to have had a conflict of interest over his company's ownership of Chennai Super Kings, who were suspended over a corruption scandal. The ICC agenda for the meeting confirmed a "review of ICC constitutional amendments" was on the table in Dubai this week. The independence condition would mean that England's Clarke would have to leave his post as ECB president to run for the ICC chairmanship. He would need a majority of the 13-member board - 10 Test nations and three associates - to support him but he won't have Australia behind him.

Australia's opposition to Clarke does not signal any rift with England. Peever, Sutherland met up with ECB chairman Colin Graves and chief executive Tom Harrison in Singapore last last year and are said to be on very good terms. Instead, as the last remaining member of the big-three powerbrokers - Srinivasan having since been removed, and Australia's Wally Edwards having retired - Clarke is not seen by CA as being a viable chairman in a climate where the reforms he jointly sponsored are being reconsidered. Peever, the former Rio Tinto Australia managing director, has not made his views on the ICC power structure public since becoming CA chairman last October, but is said to be a believer in using the game's revenues strategically and wisely rather than feathering one's own nest. Approached about CA's position on a Clarke candidacy for the ICC chairmanship, a spokesman said on Monday: "It would be inappropriate for us to talk about board matters before a meeting has even taken place."