The decision of the South African and Indian cricket boards to replace match referee Mike Denness with Denis Lindsay should leave the ICC with no option but to disown the third Test at Centurion on Friday. However aggrieved India may be at the actions of Denness, who imposed sanctions on six of their players after the second Test, they have no right to resort to such blatantly anarchic measures. If India don't want to play in this Test then fine, let them pull out. But they and South Africa cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands.

ICC supported Denness on Wednesday, and if they back down now they will lose face completely, while also setting a precedent that will allow sides to walk all over them in the future. The increased proliferation of dissent against umpires in recent times has been bad enough, but this could open up a real can of worms. Don't like your lbw decision? Don't worry about it - who says you have to accept it?

Cricket requires greater input from neutral arbiters than almost any other sport, and without the respect for authority, the game cannot function. The cost of cancelling this Test has been estimated at about £2.5 million, and that is the main reason for South Africa colluding with India as they have. While economics cannot be ignored in a sport as relatively poor as cricket, these are considerations to be discussed with ICC outside the public eye. For the two countries to flout the game's governing body in this way is absolutely ridiculous.

Denis Lindsay has not exactly covered himself in glory either. As an official ICC match referee he has no place agreeing to a move that has caused huge embarrassment to his employers. And what happened to the neutrality of match referees? Lindsay is South African. Is he really going to have the courage to impose further sanctions on the Indians if he sees someone doing something untoward with the ball?

Then there's the brave new world of the ICC World Championship. If India win this Test, can they legitimately be given a point for sharing the series? Of course they can't. The ICC has been accused of being gutless for long enough, but here it has no choice but to wave its clout around.

The notion used to be the preserve of football, but if the ICC has any mettle at all, the contradiction-in-terms that is Test cricket's first friendly will begin at Centurion on Friday. If it doesn't, how can anybody ever take the game's governing body seriously again?

Rob Smyth is on the staff at Wisden.com

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