SYDNEY (Reuters)
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has criticised the Indian and South African cricket boards after the sacking of match referee Mike Denness, who dared to find India's star batsman Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball-tampering.

Howard said it was a "terrible development" that two teams would take matters into their own hands and challenge the International Cricket Council's (ICC) right to appoint neutral referees.

"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."

Howard said he also supported the ICC's unprecedented decision to downgrade Friday's third Test between South Africa and India to a first-class fixture, after South Africa's United Cricket Board bowed to appeals from India and barred former England captain Mike Denness from officiating as match referee.

"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," Howard said. "I think it is very regrettable that the United Cricket Board of South Africa has joined the Indian Cricket Board of Control in taking this approach and it is very, very disappointing."

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.

Australian captain Steve Waugh said he welcomed Denness's decision to impose a suspended one-match ban on Tendulkar, because no player was above the game.

"If he's picked the seam, then he's got to pay the penalty like everyone else," said Waugh. "There shouldn't be any favours just because of your reputation."

But Waugh's comments drew a sharp response from his Indian counterpart Sourav Ganguly, who said that Waugh should "shut up".

Chris Ryan: cricket and Australian politics

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