By Mihir Bose BBC sports editor

Morgan has held his role with the ECB since 2003

The International Cricket Council seems unable to decide who should be its next president.

This is a result of a split in cricket's governing body along broadly racial lines; a white plus black against Asian struggle.

Last week a nominations committee representing all the 10 Test match countries met in Dubai.

They had to decide between David Morgan, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board and Sharad Pawar, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and a prominent Indian Cabinet minister.

After interviewing both Morgan and Pawar the six-member committee was split along the white plus black versus Asian lines - producing a 3-3 draw.

Morgan got three votes from the men who represent England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and West Indies - each of the members represent two Test nations.

Pawar got the votes from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the representative of the associate non-Test playing countries.

The nominations committee has asked the ICC board for a further meeting and the board will decide on this when it meets in Cape Town on 1 March.

The plan was for the nominations committee to produce an agreed candidate and for him to be approved by the board and then the general council.

Pawar hands Australia captain Ricky Ponting the Champions Trophy

The council comprises the Test playing countries and the associate nations like Scotland and Kenya and is due to meet in London in the summer.

But if there is no agreed candidate then both candidates will go forward to the general assembly.

Indian sources are confident that their man will get at least six of the 10 Test playing countries on his side, but he needs seven Test nations to win.

By way of a compromise, Sir John Anderson, a banker from New Zealand, could be introduced as a third candidate.

This option also has its problems however as I am told he is not much liked by South Africa.

The last time there was such an impasse was in the late 1990s when the ICC had its first Indian president in Jagmohan Dalmiya.

That impasse did a lot of damage to international cricket and so could this one, unless the situation is resolved quickly.