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Former Australian prime minister John Howard is being lined up to take over the presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Howard is thought to be Cricket Australia’s (CA) preferred choice to take on the role from 2012, when an Australasian candidate will lead cricket’s governing body.

Howard would not comment on the speculation, while a CA spokesman would only say: "We do have a preferred candidate. He is very dedicated to cricket and willing for his name to go forward."

The 14-man CA board, which includes Howard's former defence minister Ian McLachlan, believes the ex-PM would be able to open doors for cricket at the highest levels of government.

But the news has not been well received by New Zealand Cricket (NZC), which has nominated successful banker and former NZC chairman Sir John Anderson for the post.

Under the ICC charter, five regions rotate the presidency, which runs for a two-year term.

As a region, Australia and New Zealand were due to nominate a candidate by the end of last year but could not agree on a choice.

The ICC has set the end of next month as a deadline, with CA and NZC committed to nominate a single candidate, but the process may eventually require independent arbitration to break the deadlock.

Noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck criticised Howard’s lack of experience in cricket administration and said: "Cricket Australia's decision to nominate John Howard as its candidate for the top job at the International Cricket Council is as pitiful as it is disrespectful.”

The successful candidate would become vice-president when the incumbent, India's agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, becomes president in the middle of this year.

The vice-president effectively does a two-year apprenticeship before getting the top job, which would make Howard ICC president by mid-2012, if he is preferred to Sir John.