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Sydney - Australia's John Howard vowed to fight on to become world cricket president despite his embarrassing rejection by Africa and Asia, which was slammed as a "disgrace" by ex-ICC chief Malcolm Speed on Thursday.
Howard, the former conservative Australian prime minister, was due to fly home from Singapore after African and Asian Test nations broke with protocol by refusing to approve his candidacy at a board meeting.
"I won't be withdrawing," he told Sky News late on Wednesday.
"Even in private discussions they are very reluctant to give a particular reason," he added. "It's a very unusual situation."
The snub was greeted with anger in Australia, where former International Cricket Council (ICC) boss Speed called the move "a disgrace and an insult" to Australia and New Zealand, which nominated Howard.
England was the only other country to back the appointment, giving the row an unfortunate racial tinge.
Cricket Australia (CA) chairperson Jack Clarke said he was "gutted" by the decision, adding it "was in the grand final" of ICC slights towards the country.
"(I'm) gutted and incredibly disappointed that a man of John Howard's stature has been knocked off for this job," he said.
"If you keep having processes that don't work, or are not allowed to work, I am not too sure where they go from there."
Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket had already expressed their deep disappointment and said they would resubmit a candidate by August 31.
The rejection of Howard, known for his tough immigration policies, is believed to stem from his zealous opposition to Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe government including its cricket officials, who were targeted in sanctions.
He also incurred the wrath of the powerful Asian bloc in 2004 by labelling Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan a "chucker", or someone with an illegal bowling action.
In 2006, Howard strongly supported Australian umpire Darrell Hair, who outraged Pakistan by halting a Test match and awarding victory to England during a protest over ball-tampering allegations.
Several Test nations also objected to Howard's appointment because he had no experience of cricket administration, although he spent 11 years as Australian prime minister.
However Speed, whose 2008 departure as ICC chief executive followed a row over Zimbabwe, said Howard was seen as too strong a character for the powerful Asian bloc, headed by India.
"The rejection is a symptom of the wider malaise that afflicts world cricket and its dysfunctional governing body," Speed wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
"The countries that voted him down want a compliant figure who will do their bidding," he added.
The Herald's Peter Roebuck said "no one emerges with the slightest credit from the debacle", in a front-page commentary.
"As far as other ICC nations were concerned, the nomination was provocative," he wrote. "They regard Howard as a backwoodsman; about as progressive as an umbrella."
According to The Australian's Malcolm Conn, who broke the story Wednesday, the bid "failed purely on racial lines, much to the embarrassment of a sport which continues to shred its scant credibility on a regular basis".
"The resentment of colonialism hangs thickly in the air at ICC meetings," he wrote from Singapore, adding that India now generates up to 80 percent of cricket's revenues.
"Have a late-night drink in a hotel bar with ICC delegates and the resentment against Australia and England begins to ooze out from the non-white countries which now dominate cricket."
Meanwhile, New Zealand Herald chief sports writer David Leggat blamed Cricket Australia for spearheading Howard's push.
"If CA and NZC (New Zealand Cricket) didn't see this embarrassment coming, they were seriously caught with their pants down," he wrote.
