CSA drop charges against Gibbs

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has dropped plans for disciplinary action against Herschelle Gibbs following the player's remarks about a section of the crowd during the first Test between South Africa and Pakistan in Centurion.

CSA says it has accepted the findings of International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct commissioner Richie Benaud, who has rejected Gibbs' appeal against the original ban he received after being overheard on a stump microphone making comments about Pakistanis.

Gibbs will now miss the third Test, which begins in Cape Town on Friday, a Twenty20 international and the first match of the upcoming best-of-five one-day series against Pakistan.

"We have accepted Mr Benaud's findings in rejecting Herschelle's appeal," read a statement by CSA CEO Gerald Majola on Thursday.

"We particularly welcome the fact that Mr Benaud has emphatically cleared Herschelle of any allegations of racism.

"The CSA's disciplinary hearing was set before the ICC announced its charges. Consequently, CSA's hearing was postponed by disciplinary commissioner Judge Mervyn King until after the ICC had completed its hearings arising from the same circumstances.

"Now that the ICC has completed its process, we have decided that there is no point in charging Herschelle twice in this matter."

Gibbs was charged following an incident on the fourth day at Centurion, when he was heard making comments about a section of Pakistan supporters.

He was found guilty of a Level 3 offence, clause 3.3 of the Code which prohibits using "...any language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin."