ACA backs its players
Amid mounting criticism of the Australian team’s alleged lack of sportsmanship, the country’s Players association chief Paul Marsh on Friday defended the world champions claiming they are second to none in fair play, reports PTI from Melbourne
Marsh said Test cricket was a tough game and the Australians tested their opponents in terms of their skills as well as physical and mental toughness.
“Test cricket is not tiddlywinks. It is a true test of not only a player’s skills but their mental and physical toughness,” he said, justifying the team’s on-field aggression.
“These are traits that Australia as a nation has been built upon,” he asserted.
“The Australian cricket team plays the game hard but fair. They test their opponents in all three of the above areas, but rarely nowadays cross the line,” he said.
Lawson’s take
Pakistan’s coach Geoff Lawson believes captains need to show more responsibility and sensitivity while dealing with abrasive situations in order to avoid the type of controversies witnessed after the Sydney Test, reports PTI from Karachi.
After initially lambasting the Australian team for their behavior, Lawson had changed his tone while insisting what happened in Sydney was the result of a long history between both teams.
“I would not blame any one factor for the controversies. Any team will be piped at getting bad umpiring decisions. But it was a host of things that added up to the problems including the charge against Harbhajan Singh by the Australians,” he said.
Lawson feels in such situations the ultimate responsibility lay with captains.
“The unfortunate thing is all these events overshadowed what was a great Test match. But the captains will now have to tell their players to move on from Sydney.”
Madugalle confident
ICC’s Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle, sent Down Under to act as “peacemaker” between the Indian and Australian teams, is confident of normalising relations following the controversy-marred Sydney Test, reports PTI from Melbourne.
Madugalle is due to arrive in Perth on the morrow and is likely to meet rival captains Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting the following day.
Madugalle said his previous dealings with Ponting and Kumble had led him to believe both were reasonable men, well capable of reaching an amicable arrangement.