HOBART, Nov 23: Australian Prime Minister John Howard and the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) condemned Indian and South African officials on Friday for challenging the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) authority to appoint independent match referees.

Howard and ACB chairman Bob Merriman said they were concerned for the game’s future after Indian and South African officials ignored ICC regulations by sacking Mike Denness because of the fallout over his ruling that India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar was guilty of ball tampering.

Howard, a self-confessed cricket lover, said the teams’ disregard for the ICC’s authority was a “terrible development” for the sport.

“The authority of the ICC should not be challenged in this way,” Howard told a Sydney radio station.

“It is imperative that administrators of all games have the tenacity, the courage and the authority to stamp out behaviour that brings any game into disrepute.

“It’s very, very bad that this kind of thing should occur but in the end you have to accept the umpire’s decision, so to speak.

Merriman said the ACB was gravely concerned by the developments.

“The playing conditions and the regulations which bind us all together clearly give certain authority to the ICC president and chief executive to appoint referees,” Merriman said.

“No team has got the right to object to or try to select referees...and anything that goes against those regulations is of grave concern.”

Relations between the Indian and Australian cricket teams have been strained in recent years and there were reports of friction between the players during this year’s Test series in India, won 2-1 by the home side.

In Colombo, Sri Lanka have backed the ICC’s stance.

“We certainly see the ICC’s point,” Vijaya Malalasekara, chairman of the interim committee which runs the Sri Lanka cricket board, told Reuters on Friday.

“You don’t agree to independent judges and suddenly sack them because you don’t like how they rule,” he said.

Malalasekara said he had been in touch with ICC president Malcolm Gray but wanted to hear India’s side of the story as well.

“But I would like to know India’s position before we make a final call and we hope it can be solved amicably,” he said.

In London, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Lord MacLaurin said he will back the ICC in any power struggle with India and South Africa.

“The ECB view is absolutely clear, we stand full square behind the ICC,” he said.

“I have spoken to (ICC president) Malcolm Gray this morning and pledged our full support, as I guess most of the Test-playing nations will do.”

MacLaurin added: “They (the ICC) control world cricket — we have anarchy at the moment.”—Reuters