ICC Match Referee Chris Broad has demanded local South African cricket broadcaster SABC turns off the pitch microphones between balls following a complaint from Australian players and team management.

An Australian team spokesman said on Saturday Broad had agreed that the accepted protocol for television coverage of Test matches had not been adhered to and that Broad would be monitoring the issue for the remainder of the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Johannesburg.

Broad met with SABC technicians on Friday before the first day's play to clarify the matter.

The Australian players and management had been angry their occasional outbursts were going live to air, when they had been used to playing under a system where this didn't happen.

Shane Warne had called South African paceman Andre Nel a "f**king dill" and a "softcock" during the second Test when the tailender was battling to hold out a series of short balls from Brett Lee.

SABC, which supplies the pictures and sound for Foxtel back in Australia, had been leaving the mikes turned on - and turned up.

Broad agreed with the Australians that the mikes should be turned down after the ball becomes dead following each delivery and it is turned on again once the bowler starts his run-up to the wicket.

South African-born Tony Greig, who is back in his home country for a television role, raised the issue this week at a corporate lunch.

"Let's face it, these stump mikes we have to seriously turn them down," the former England captain said on Wednesday, a day after Australia won the second Test in Durban by 112 runs.

"I was just hoping that they had it turned down to air because that's the sort of thing that can lose you licence to air."

Warne's strong competitive streak has helped make the leg-spinner arguably Australia's greatest cricketer since Don Bradman.

But as for the occasional four-letter word between rivals, there doesn't seem to be much harm in that, as long as it doesn't go to air.

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