Sydney, July 4 (DPA) Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard Sunday took a swipe at the African and Asian nations that teamed up to overturn his bid to head the International Cricket Council (ICC) when the post is vacated by India's Sharad Pawar in 2012.

At a meeting in Singapore last week, the ICC rejected Howard's candidacy without explanation.

"No one part of the world, no one country, should dominate cricket," Howard said. "People in the past criticised the fact it was dominated by England and Australia, and now we don't want to replace one perceived domination by another."

Howard, 70, who was prime minister from 1996 to 2007, said he was leaving the decision on a possible re-nomination for the ICC vice-presidency to Cricket Australia (CA).

"I'd like the job but at this stage it has hit a roadblock, and what happens from now on is really CA's call. It's not about me, it's about the future of the game," Howard said.

Under an agreed protocol, it is Australasia's turn to head the ICC from 2012 and Howard's candidature, endorsed by the game's governing bodies in Australia and New Zealand, should have been automatically accepted.

Cricket Australia chairman Jack Clarke is supporting Howard's decision not to retract his nomination.

"I went into this because I love cricket very much and I had the time to devote to it and the energy and the commitment, but what happens from now on CA and New Zealand Cricket have been asked to re-nominate and they obviously separately and together will meet and talk about the situation," Howard said.

There have been calls for CA to abandon Howard and instead put forward former Test captain Mark Taylor for the post of vice president, where he would serve for two years before taking over the presidency.

The former opening batsman would be the first former Test player to head the ICC.

But others are urging CA to stand firm against what they see as bullying by India, which accounts for more than 80 percent of turnover in the game.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has thrown her support behind Howard and denied Indian claims that the former prime minister is a "closet racist".

Gillard, describing Howard as a "passionate cricket fan", entered the fray by backing up Howard's observation that he had been unfairly treated.

"I share some of the concerns he's voiced publicly about the kind of factors that are influencing this decision, so I'd be very happy to offer full support for John Howard to get this role," Gillard said.

For his part, Howard was careful not to antagonise India in comments to the local media. "We have to be careful of making India some kind of target of disdain in world cricket," he said.