Asian bloc not splitting cricket: Speed

Sydney: Malcolm Speed has rejected suggestions that a powerful Asian bloc is splintering cricket, despite speculation that the Indian-led alliance contributed to him losing the game's top administrative position.

Speed, in his first public comments regarding his premature exit as International Cricket Council chief executive in April, said the old guard and the vanguard of the game had much more common ground than was widely perceived.

"There is a lot of speculation about the 'Asian bloc' in cricket," Speed said in an interview in Friday's Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. "This occurs rarely. In the past few years, Australia has been more likely to vote with India than some of the Asian countries."

India is undoubtedly the financial epicentre of the sport, contributing an estimated 70 per cent of revenue.

It has voted in a bloc with neighbouring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on certain issues, causing a shifting of power away from England and Australia, traditionally the leading stakeholders.

Even with that clout, the four Asian members need at least one other ally among the 10 full members of the ICC to have the power of veto in decision making.