Gibbs's father lashes out at the ICC

Herman Gibbs, the father of Herschelle Gibbs, has lashed out at the ICC for banning his son on charges of racist abuse. He accused the ICC of looking away when South African players were victims of racist remarks in Australia last year.

"There are a bunch of incorrigible old men in the ICC," Gibbs senior said to Supersport website. "They were unable to do anything about match fixing and are too afraid to tackle any controversial matter properly."

He said that Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, seemed to have a vendetta against the South African team and now his son, Herschelle, had become a convenient stick in the team for him to hit at.

"To describe Herschelle as a racist is laughable; it makes me angry. My children attended non-racial schools when most of their contemporaries were still in one-race schools. If there's one thing Herschelle is not, it's a racist."

Gibbs was handed a two-Test ban after he was heard over the stump microphone making allegedly racist remarks about a section of the crowd on the fourth day of the Centurion Test against Pakistan. Gibbs has appealed against the ban and will be able to play the second Test at Port Elizabeth starting January 19 as all punishments are suspended between the appeal and its decision.