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Nothing official about it! It’s official now! The third Test between India and South Africa to be played in a few hours time at Centurion Park has been declared 'Unofficial'. None of the ICC staff would be present at the ground and the scores from the Test would not enter the official record books. However, the two captains - Sourav Ganguly and Shaun Pollock have promised to play out a proper game and have promised a hard time on the field to each other. It is of course another matter that South Africa has 'officially' won the three-test series 1-0 with the second match drawn and the third becoming 'unofficial'. Last night, the South African cricket board, UCB and the Indian cricket board, BCCI jointly decided to dump controversial ICC match referee Mike Denness. This has already snowballed into a controversy with the ICC refusing to accept the decision on grounds that Denness' appointment was agreed to by both the Boards prior to the series. ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed also declared that the Centurion Park test would be declared as unofficial. The UCBSA has appointed the former South African Test Playerand match referee Denis Lindsay to officiate as the match referee in the third test. The Indian authorities have also agreed that Lindsay was a suitable replacement since he is also part of the ICC panel. The UCB also said that it would bar the entry of Mike Denness to the Centurion Park ground at Johannesburg where the third test match between India and South Africa is to be played tomorrow. The UCB has said that this step was taken to prevent any crisis in the cricketing and diplomatic ties between the two countries.The BCCI President, Jagmohan Dalmiya said in a press conference that the ICC will not object to the decision taken by the two Boards and will grant the match official status. MP Bhargava, the Manger of the Indian Cricket team, has stated that the third test match will be played in all seriousness and the match will have to be recognized as official by ICC as Denis Lindsay is also on the ICC panel of match referees. However, one of the Indian players in Mike Denness’ list, Virendar Sehwag, will not be playing but Connor Williams has been included in the 12 shortlisted for tomorrow’s match.
Source: msn.co.in |
