THE International Cricket Council today faces one of the biggest days in its 98-year existence when it simply must seize control of the game.

India's threat to boycott the Australian tour has come down to a battle of who runs cricket - India or the ICC.

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed should give ground on one key issue and stand as firm as a brick statue on another.

India want Steve Bucknor sacked from the next Test in Perth and so he should be. Every grievance India have against him is genuine and there were whispers last night he was gone already.

But India's suspension of the tour while they wait for an appeal on the suspension of Harbhajan Singh is a veiled form of blackmail and must be treated with the harsh response it deserves.

If the ICC feels Harbhajan was worth suspending, it must not crumble in the face of a subcontinental blackmail from the world's most powerful cricket nation.

India's cricketing wealth may be 50 times that of any rival but that does not give them the right to run the game.

India must be told by Speed in the strongest possible terms to get moving with the rest of the tour and let the ICC worry about Harbhajan.

If the ICC buckles and overturns the Harbhajan verdict because of Indian pressure, it may as well shut its doors in Dubai and cease to exist, for whatever credibility it has will be lost forever.

And it will be a crippling blow for cricket, because a sport without strong leadership can never reach its potential. A game run by self-interest is a game in trouble.

If the Harbhajan verdict stands - as it should - and India abandon the tour, then so be it. Their nation will be in disgrace, their team retreating as men who cowered in the face of substantial adversity.

It's a shame India have sulked, because many Australians felt deeply sympathetic for the dreadful hand they were dealt in Sydney. They were dudded. It's as simple as that.

The Australians have not come out of the Test well either. Ricky Ponting continues to argue Australia play within the spirit of the game, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he failed to walk when he was out, threw his bat when he was dismissed and put his finger up to indicate a low catch had been taken by Michael Clarke.

His protest about the "monkey" taunt has left a lot of Australian fans cold, given his side's lengthy history of verbal warfare.

Ponting's fine reputation as a leader has not been enhanced by his performance during the game or his comments after it.