BALFOUR PLEADS WITH ICC.

(REPEATS FOR NEWS WIRE) Sport Minister Ngconde Balfour Thursday issued a plea to the International Cricket Council (ICC), asking the world governing body to reconsider its position regarding the appointment of match referee Mike Denness for the third test between India and South Africa starting Friday. The touring Indian cricket said earlier Thursday that they would not take to the field should Denness serve in his ICC appointed capacity as match referee. Denness created a major storm when he found Indian star Sachin Tendulkar and five other players -- including captain Saurav Ganguly -- guilty of a range of offences. Tendulkar was suspended for one test match and fined 75 percent of his match fee for tampering with the ball in the drawn second test against the South Africans in Port Elizabeth last week. The other Indian players were punished for excessive appealing in the same match, while Ganguly was found guilty of not controlling his team. Denness' actions caused a furore in India and the team were on the verge of returning home. The United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) on Thursday asked Denness to stand down, but the Englishman refused. The UCBSA, without the permission of the ICC, then said they would deny him access to the test and replace him with South African ICC referee Denis Lindsay. The ICC then responded saying that if Denness did not officiate the match would not be recognised as an official test. Balfour then decided to get in on the act, sending the ICC a long letter appealing for Denness' demise for the final test. The Minister hit out at the ICC in the letter stating their reluctance to change match referees was not in the interest of cricket. "We regard your reluctance to do so in a rather serious light and believe that it ...