New Delhi, November 22
In a far-reaching decision, the International Cricket Council today announced that the third Test between India and South Africa will not be recognised as an official tie in case Mike Denness is not allowed to stand as match referee.The devastating rejection threw overboard the proposed course of action agreed between the cricket boards of the two countries.
United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had agreed earlier in the day that Mr Denness be replaced, clearing the decks for the third Test to go ahead at Johannesburg from tomorrow.
The ICC block came late at night tonight.
ICC Chief Executive officer Malcolm Speed said in London “Mike Denness was properly appointed by the ICC for this series and approved by both South Africa and India. No cricket board has the authority to remove Mr Denness from his position as match referee.
“The ICC cannot accede to demands for his removal. To remove him under this kind of pressure would be to disregard the rules agreed by all member countries and set an unacceptable future precedent," added Mr Speed.
It has been suggested in South Africa that a replacement match could be staged if the Test does not go ahead. If this were to happen it would not be recognised by the ICC as a Test match. It would not be officiated by an ICC referee or umpire and neither the result nor statistics would be included in Test match records.
The disciplinary action taken by Mike Denness in Port Elizabeth will continue to stand. Specifically, this would mean that the one match ban served on Virender Sehwag would now apply to the first Test match against England in Mohali in December.
Buckling under pressure from the BCCI, the UCBSA today removed controversial match referee Mike Denness for the third Test which begins at Centurion Park tomorrow.
Feathers soothed, India’s cricket board said the third and final Test would go ahead at Johannesburg. Board of Control for Cricket in India President Jagmohan Dalmiya said in Kolkata that Denness has been replaced with Dennis Lindsay, the ICC panel referee from South Africa, for the third Test.
The BCCI had requested the ICC to either replace Denness or keep his decision regarding unprecedented penalties against six Indian players on charges including ball-tampering in abeyance.
The drastic penalties raised a storm in Parliament today.
The South African government said that neither the UCBSA nor the national team was involved in the controversy triggered by the punishment meted out to the players.
PTI
