Calcutta: The International Cricket Council’s nominations committee met in Dubai on Wednesday to consider the two nominations for the next ICC president’s post, according to an ICC media release.

The Board of Control forCricket in India president Sharad Pawar and chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board David Morgan are the two nominees to succeed the current President Percy Sonn when his term ends in 2008.

The chairman of the ICC nominations committee Dr AC Muttiah said the process was now in motion and he would be submitting the committee’s recommendation to the ICC executive board to meet inCape Town on March 1.

“It was a very productive meeting that took place in a very friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both the candidates gave us a lot of their insight and vision on the development of cricket internationally.

“Now we will be submitting our recommendation to the ICC executive board so that the process can move forward,” Dr Muttiah said after a six-hour meeting.

“This is the first time this method of selecting the ICC President has been employed. It is a fair and transparent process and one that we believe will ensure the most suitable candidate gets the job,” he said.

The ICC nominations committee consists of Dr AC Muttiah (chairman; India and Sri Lanka), Bob Merriman (Australia and New Zealand), Mueen Afzal (Bangladesh and Pakistan), Stephen Camacho (West Indies and England), John Blair (South Africa and Zimbabwe) and Imran Khwaja (Associates and Affiliates).

The report of the committee will be confidential and is unlikely to be communicated until after the executive board meeting.