India have yet to taste success against Australia in this painful series, but they certainly recorded a convincing win over the International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday and as a result have agreed to continue the tour.

As per India's wishes, the ICC stood down the controversial Jamaican umpire Steve Bucknor from the Perth Test, with New Zealand's Billy Bowden called up to take his place. India have also lodged an appeal against Harbhajan Singh's three-match suspension for allegedly calling the Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey" during the Sydney Test, and have been successful in laying a charge of abusive behaviour against Australian spinner Brad Hogg.

The ICC's moves to accommodate India's wishes appear to have convinced the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to press on with the tour. A committee met in Delhi yesterday to discuss the status of the series and delegates voted overwhelmingly to continue the series, despite a massive push among India's vast fan base to have the team brought home with immediate effect.

The BCCI did, however, issue a combative statement that insisted on the complete exoneration of Harbhajan.

"The WC (working committee of the BCCI) reiterated that the ban imposed on Harbhajan is totally unacceptable," it said . "It further authorised the president (Sharad Pawar) to take all possible steps at his command and deploy all human and material resources available to get the player cleared of the obnoxious and baseless accusation."

It went on to warn that the continuation of the tour was only "an interim arrangement" that depended on the accusations against Harbhajan being "set aside or withdrawn".

India's players were last night told to pack their bags for Canberra, where the team is due to start a three-day tour match against the Australian Capital Territory chairman's XI tomorrow. Though Harbhajan's appeal will not be heard for about a week, the Indians enjoyed more immediate success in their effort to remove Bucknor from the remainder of the series. Having made a series of wrong decisions during the contentious New Year's Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Bucknor had been in the Indians' crosshairs for several days and finally paid the price.

"It is important to stress that Steve (Bucknor) has not been replaced due to any representations made by any team or individuals," said the ICC chief executive, Malcolm Speed. "The (council) remains the sole body responsible for the appointment of umpires and no team has the right to object to any appointment. The decision by the ICC to replace Steve for this match was made in the best interests of the game and the series."

Speed said a second match referee in Sri Lanka's Ranjan Madugalle would be flown into Perth to serve as a mediator between the opposing captains, Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble, ahead of the third Test. But Madugalle's role is not guaranteed success, and yesterday he faced a roadblock after the Indians lodged an official complaint into the behaviour of Hogg during the Sydney Test.

The Indians are also keen for Harbhajan to play while his appeal is pending, a move that will no doubt infuriate the Australians, who believe the Indian spinner to have been justly punished by the game's authorities.

Anxious not to inflame the situation further, the BCCI denied that the ICC's manoeuvrings amounted to a victory. "I don't like to say that we have won or lost, but when the team loses faith in a match umpire it is better that the umpire doesn't stand," said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.

Guardian Service

• The ICC have announced the Women's World Cup Qualifier event, which Ireland will participate in, will now take place in South Africa from February 18th-24th, writes Emmet Riordan.

The ICC took the decision to move the event from Lahore in Pakistan as the country has rescheduled their elections to February 18th following the recent murder of Benazir Bhutto. The decision follows independent security reports.

Ireland have made one change to their original squad, with Jillian Smythe pulling out due to a clash with her final examination dates. Her place is taken by Melissa Scott-Hayward. Carol McGuire is also named as the non-travelling reserve. The squad plan to leave for a training camp in South Africa on February 9th.