Malcolm Speed: to stand down in June 2008 © Getty Images

Malcolm Speed, the ICC's chief executive, has said that he will step down when his contract expires in June 2008.

"That will conclude seven years and I will not stay on longer than that," Speed said from the ICC's headquarters in Dubai.

He denied that the stinging criticism both he and the ICC had received during the World Cup had influenced his decision, insisting that he had made up his mind before then.

"It's not a secret, there's nothing earth-shattering," an ICC spokesman told Cricinfo. "He's just decided now's a good time. He will be 60 next September and he was is quite content that the future is on a good footing. He will have left the game on a sound footing in terms of finances, thanks to agreements including the recent deal with ESPN-Star."

Speed succeeded David Richards, another Australian, in 2001 and he has overseen a period when income into the game has reached unprecedented levels. But with that has come a marked increase in the power of individual boards, and Speed has often seemed increasingly at odds with the policies the ICC has been forced to follow.

The ICC will discuss the process of recruitment in October. It expects David Morgan, who is on the human resources and remuneration committee, to play a role there, particularly as he will be the incumbent president.