New Zealand Cricket regrets its joint decision to nominate John Howard for the International Cricket Council's vice-presidency role as the frantic search for his replacement heats up.
Six of the 10 Test playing nations backhanded Cricket Australia and NZC's supposed rubber-stamping of the 70-year-old former Australian prime minister, who has since stated he 'won't be withdrawing'.
NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said: "They [the ICC] said he [Howard] was unacceptable and asked us to re-nominate. That's pretty clear."
The trans-Tasman neighbours have until August 31 to solve the debacle. A successful nominee would serve as ICC vice president for two-years, before securing the top job in 2012.
NZC chairman Alan Isaac asked New Zealand's preferred candidate, Sir John Anderson, to reapply after he was overlooked for Howard first time around, but Anderson declined last week.
Vaughan said in 'hindsight' NZC would have nominated Anderson.
"In perfect hindsight, if we'd known what the ICC's position on John Howard was going to be... yeah it is regrettable.
"We felt clear messages coming back around John Howard. Australia invested a lot of time into getting Howard to put himself forward for the position, so it's a sensitive position for them. It's something that we'll discuss with them in the next couple of weeks."
CA meets early next month, but New Zealand has moved more swiftly - meeting on Friday - with former NZC chief executive Chris Doig emerging as an early favourite.
Vaughan hinted Doig and Isaac were two possibilities that had potential.
"Both those people certainly tick the boxes," Vaughan said.
"I'm not going to go into detail around names. There are some good contenders in New Zealand and we'll be exploring those with Cricket Australia."
The original nomination process lingered for three-months and Vaughan wanted decisive action.
"It's really important NZC and CA are on the same page with the new nominee. We're certainly hoping for a quicker process than last time."
Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe ruled himself out on Monday. However, he did suggest Isaac had the diplomatic skills and pedigree to be successful.
"The candidate needs to have knowledge of the landscape and be able to politically negotiate. Alan Isaac is in a good position to carry that kind of role," Crowe said.
"If they got stuck I would help out, but I'm not the kind of guy they need. They need someone with a lot more political experience and boardroom doings.
"It's not something you put your hand up for. It's a very important appointment. John Anderson would have been ideal, so they'll be searching for someone of a similar ilk."