Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif has threatened legal action against the Australian Cricket Board after he was cleared of making a racist comment towards his counterpart, Adam Gilchrist.
The tournament has been dogged by controversy since well before it began but the latest development is potentially the most serious for the sport.
The dispute looked as though it had been diluted when Latif was exonerated of any offence under the International Cricket Council's code of conduct.
Both sides seemed to have resolved their differences after Latif denied making an obscene and racist comment to Gilchrist towards the end of Australia's 85-run win in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
But, as he was about to leave Johannesburg with the rest of his team yesterday, Latif said: "I'm just waiting for the go-ahead from the team management and then I will proceed taking legal action against the Australian Cricket Board.
"They have tarnished my image and put me under pressure. The last 24 hours have been very stressful and they don't appreciate what my family have been through. I'm not a racist. I had a very good relationship with Adam Gilchrist in the past, but I can't believe what he's done. He levelled baseless allegations against me and I'm very upset."
The Australian Cricket Board said it could make no comment until a writ had been issued. It lodged the initial complaint after Gilchrist drew the notice of the match umpires to what he claimed had been said. Video evidence picked up the adjective "white" but no noun to follow it.
The case at first seemed reminiscent of that brought against Gilchrist's colleague Darren Lehmann last month.
Lehmann was banned for five matches, which he has now served, after shouting obscene and racial abuse following his dismissal in a one-day match against Sri Lanka.
Gilchrist said: "I was shocked by the comment I believe I heard but I was more than comfortable with the process followed by the ICC and fully accept the outcome. I've shaken hands with Rashid and Waqar Younis [Pakistan's captain] and I'm happy to say the issue is totally closed."
If Latif now pursues a claim through the courts it will only serve to bring closer a divide in cricket along racial lines, which the ICC has feared for years.
