Percy Sonn will face the first challenge to his presidency when the United Cricket Board holds its annual meeting next Saturday (August 4).

Dr Mtutulezi Nyoka, the newly-elected chairman of the Gauteng Cricket Board, was the only other name put forward the position of president when nominations for UCB officer-bearers closed on Friday.

Sonn, it is generally thought, is likely to retain his presidency, if only for the sake of continuity within the UCB. He became acting president at the beginning of last year when his predecessor, Ray White, stepped down against a background of political squabbling. Sonn was confirmed as president for the first time at last year's annual meeting.

His first full year in office has been played out against the agony of the match-fixing scandal, certainly the greatest crisis faced by South African cricket since returning from isolation and, some would say, possibly the greatest in the history of the game in this country.

Feisty and sometimes abrasive, Sonn would probably not offer diplomacy as one of his chief virtues. His view that Hansie Cronje "should not be allowed to play beach cricket" has returned more than once to haunt him and is likely to continue to as the UCB faces Cronje's court challenge to his life ban.

Sonn's twin roles of UCB president and a deputy to the South African Director of Public Prosecutions, the office that will eventually decide on Cronje's indemnity, have caused some debate.

At the same time, though, it may well be felt that Nyoka, who took over the Gauteng chairmanship is not yet sufficiently experienced to take over the highest position in South African cricket. If he does win election he will become the first African president of the UCB.

There will, however, be two new faces on the six-strong national selection panel. Both Gerald Majola and Hylton Ackerman, who were voted onto the panel last year, are ineligible for election this year, Majola because he is chief executive of the UCB and Ackerman because of his position as director of the Plascon national academy. Both men will, however, continue to sit in on selection meetings in an ex officio capacity.

© CricInfo