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CENTURION, South Africa, Friday (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) warned South Africa on Thursday that their third test against India would be struck from the records if match referee Mike Denness was barred from officiating.

Cricket's world governing body said it would not be pushed around after South Africa's United Cricket Board (UCB), in an unprecedented decision taken under pressure from the Pretoria government, announced it would prevent Denness from taking part in the match starting on Friday.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed responded: "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."

The South Africans barred Denness in an attempt to placate the Indian touring side and stop them boycotting the final game of the series after they complained about Denness's handling of the drawn second test.

Denness, a former England captain, found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of doctoring the ball and also punished five other Indian players, including captain Saurav Ganguly, for excessive appealing.

The ICC's hard line is now sure to bring the crisis to a head with just a few hours to go before the Centurion game.

It said in a statement it would also order its other referees and umpires not to take part.

"It would not be recognised by the ICC as a test match," it said. "It would not be officiated by an ICC referee or umpire and neither the result nor statistics would be included in test match records."

GREATER DOUBT

Friday's test, the series decider with South Africa leading 1-0, was thrown into even greater doubt when Jagmohan Dalmiya, head of the Indian cricket board and the former head of the ICC, rubbished Speed's comments, saying only the ICC executive committee could make such a decision.

"We (the Indian and South African cricket boards) feel that it qualifies to be an official test match," he said.

If Tendulkar's suspended one-match ban -- he was shown on television apparently scratching the seam of the ball with his fingernail -- sparked the situation, it was the South Africans' surprise response on Thursday which transformed it into a full-blown crisis.

The United Cricket Board, its arm twisted by Pretoria which feared a boycott could hit diplomatic and trading links with India, told Denness he would be barred from the ground after he refused a request to stand down voluntarily.

Both teams agreed to the unofficial appointment of former South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Denis Lindsay, a member of the ICC match referees panel, as a replacement.

'NO ALTERNATIVE'

A statement from UCB chief executive Gerald Majola said that he had told ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed that he had "no alternative".

Majola added: "We were informed this morning by the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Mr Jagmohan Dalmiya, that the Indian team will not take the field if Mike Denness is acting as match referee." The UCB said that South African cricket and its public could "not afford the cancellation of this test match", adding: "The South African government, through sports minister Ngconde Balfour, has instructed the UCBSA to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that the test match goes ahead."

Balfour later conceded the decision was "pragmatic" adding that he had "tremendous respect" for the ICC and "this in no way should be viewed as an attempt to discredit the integrity of Mr Denness".

Denness was disappointed by the UCB's decision. "I certainly won't be going to the ground tomorrow (Friday) but that is all I can say," he said.

Street protests, meanwhile, raged for a second day in India on Thursday. In Calcutta, protestors paraded a straw effigy of Denness astride a mule before burning it.

Politicians in India's lower house of parliament called for financial pressure to be exerted on the ICC by suspending broadcasts of overseas matches, although there was no clear call to bring the team home because relations with South Africa are cordial.

"The situation in South Africa is very, very serious. It is unjust and partial and it seems there is a racist element," former test cricketer Kirti Azad, who belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said.

The crisis has mushroomed partly because of Tendulkar's standing in the game, and in his home country in particular.

UNBLEMISHED RECORD

Widely regarded as the best batsman in the world, he has an unblemished record and is revered by India's passionate fans.

Many players and officials in the sub-continent also feel they have been discriminated against for years, even though the game is now much more popular in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka than England, the traditional home of the sport.

A spokesman for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said on Wednesday the team should pull out of the series if it were proved that the penalties imposed by Denness stemmed from racial discrimination. 

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