February 08, 2008	Friday	Muharram 29, 1429

JOHANNESBURG, Feb 7: South Africa’s cricket coach Mickey Arthur was facing the axe on Thursday over accusations he abused the country’s top cricket official in a row over the number of black players to tour Bangladesh, a report said.

According to The Star, Cricket South Africa (CSA) President Norman Arendse has laid formal charges against Arthur, accusing him of being “abusive and disrespectful” and “cocking a snoop at his employers’ policy of (racial) transformation”.

The charges are to be dealt with by CSA Chief Executive Gerald Majola who is like.

Rows over the lack of black players also played a large part in the departure of Springbok coach Jake White who announced he was quitting only weeks after South Africa won the rugby World Cup last year.

While fast bowler Makhaya Ntini and Ashwell Prince are both regulars in the Test team, Gibbs was one of only three black players in the starting line-up in the Proteas’ last ODI on Sunday against the West Indies. —AFP