The ICC said in a statement that public comment about any player's action by an umpire or referee could not be allowed until an investigation had taken place and van der Merwe was told to make no further comment. The ICC said Muralitharan was not the subject of an investigation.

In Auckland, in-form batsman Rahul Dravid steered India to a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in the fourth one-day international at Eden Park on Saturday.

Dravid hammered a confident 51 in an 88-run partnership with Saurav Ganguly to set his team on the way to a comfortable win. After restricting New Zealand to 207 for eight off 50 overs, India reached the target for the loss of five wickets and with 6.1 overs to spare.

The United Cricket Board of South Africa said Makhaya Ntini, 21, will stay in contention for an international place. Ntini was released on £500 bail on Friday after appearing in court in East London on the charge of raping a 21-year-old woman.

In Lahore, a judicial commission inquiring into match-fixing and betting in Pakistan cricket was adjourned yesterday after several witnesses failed to turn up.