Cricket Australia would not confirm yesterday whether it had nominated Mr Howard as the Australian candidate to be president of the International Cricket Council.

Mr Howard, who was in Canberra doing archival research for his memoirs, would not comment. ''He does not want to say anything about the rumours,'' a spokesman said.

Since his defeat at the 2007 election, Mr Howard's only official position has been as director of the Bradman Foundation, his office said. He was in the running last October for a senior position with the National Rugby League - until the short-lived plan was shot down by a federal minister, Anthony Albanese.

Next month the governing cricket bodies in Australia and New Zealand will propose an Australasian candidate to take the leadership of the ICC from 2012. The chosen candidate will serve as deputy president from the middle of this year.

A spokesman for Cricket Australia confirmed yesterday that an Australian candidate had been selected but would not say if it was Mr Howard.

''We do have a preferred candidate. He is very dedicated to cricket and willing for his name to go forward.''

During his 11 years running Australia, Mr Howard regularly weighed into cricket politics: he expressed distaste for Twenty20; he sought to keep broadcasts of the Ashes on free-to-air television; and he readily volunteered his prime ministerial opinion on the controversy over Muttiah Muralitharan's ''chucking'' (which prompted demands for an apology from the Sri Lankan prime minister; Mr Howard refused).

On a trip to Pakistan in 2005, he tried - three times - to bowl on a dirt-pitch: two headed straight into the dirt, one was a wide. He also took up a commentary spot whenever he could.