DUBAI, Jan 10: President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Ray Mali insisted on Wednesday the decision to stand down veteran umpire Steve Bucknor from the upcoming third Test between Australia and India had prevented a “serious international diplomatic incident”.

The South African also defended the world governing body from charges it had bowed to Indian pressure after the tourists complained bitterly about Bucknor’s performance in the second Test of the four-match series where Australia won on the final day to equal their own record of 16 straight Test wins.

“We recognised from the outset that the umpiring in the second Test was below the very high standard we have come to expect from our Elite Panel and we noted with concern the enormous reaction to it and realised that we could potentially have a serious international diplomatic incident on our hands,” Mali said in a statement issued from the ICC’s Dubai headquarters on Wednesday.

“By standing Steve down for the third Test we have successfully defused the situation, at least for the time being, and so what was a sporting issue has not become a political crisis.

“We could easily have taken an inflexible stance and gone toe-to-toe with those who were calling for Steve’s withdrawal but instead we chose to adopt a more diplomatic and reasonable approach. And on balance it was the right thing to do, for the game and for the series,” he added.

It is hard to see how West Indian Bucknor, Test cricket’s most experienced umpire, would have been dropped if India had not complained to such an extent.

But Mali was adamant the ICC, who have replaced Bucknor with New Zealand’s Billy Bowden, remained in control of umpiring appointments for major international matches.

“It is important to point out that no team has the right the object to any umpire appointment and this decision was taken entirely by the ICC for the best interests of cricket,” Mali insisted.

Indian officials also effectively put their tour on hold while they appealed a three-Test ban for bowler Harbhajan Singh, who was accused of racially abusing Andrew Symonds, the only black player in the Australian side, during the second Test in Sydney.

Mali stressed the decision to drop Bucknor was in no way related to Harbhajan’s appeal. No date for the hearing has yet been set and, in the meantime, the off-spinner remains eligible to play – something India had insisted was vital in their decision to continue with the tour.

“It is also worth reminding people that the decision to replace Steve for this match had nothing to do with the Harbhajan Singh code of conduct hearing. That process is ongoing and will run its full course.

“We have appointed the eminent New Zealand High Court Judge, Justice John Hansen, to hear the appeal and the entire process will be carried out in an open and transparent way,” he stated.—AFP