Meanwhile Cricket Australia stands firmly behind Ponting and Buchanan makes contradicting statements

[suraj]

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has pledged his support for besieged captain Ricky Ponting and the behaviour of his Test team.(Why?????) The Australians' on-field behaviour was called into question in the aftermath of their 122-run second Test victory over India at the SCG last week, with visiting captain Anil Kumble accusing the world champions of not playing within the spirit of the game. Ponting has worn the brunt of the criticism levelled at the Australians, with some sections of the media calling for his sacking. But Sutherland said Ponting had the full backing of the CA board and supported the captain's offer to clear the air with Kumble prior to next week's Test in Perth.(Why?????) "I have spoken to Ricky Ponting and made it absolutely clear to him on behalf of the board of Cricket Australia that we do not support that criticism and the support of him as team captain is absolute," said Sutherland.(Why?????) "I've had discussions with Ricky Ponting over the last few days and in my mind he is in a very good space. "Ricky is very willing and a number of days ago made an offer to Anil Kumble to get together and talk through their differences of opinion. "I'm very confident that will happen." Sutherland said the criticism levelled at the Australians behaviour was unjustified, adding the side had taken huge strides forward in respect to their behaviour on the cricket pitch. "The Australian team plays the game tough and uncompromising," he said. "Test cricket is what is being played, it is not tiddlywinks. "The Australian cricket team will be the first to admit they are not perfect. "They don't get it right all of the time, but they get it right a lot more now than they used to since their public pledge to the spirit of cricket in 2003."(Theory of relativity WTF??) Meanwhile, former Australia coach John Buchanan says the International Cricket Council (ICC) is threatening the future of the game by bowing to the demands of India in the aftermath of the second Test furore. Buchanan believes the ICC showed a lack of leadership when they succumbed to pressure from the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and sacked umpire Steve Bucknor for the third Test at Perth next week. India had also threatened to end its tour of Australia if suspended spinner Harbhajan Singh didn't have his three Test ban for racist comments overturned. The BCCI have appealed Harbhajan's ban, clearing the bowler to play until the outcome of that hearing which may not be until after the fourth and final Test in Adelaide. "It is my view that the ICC with their approach and decisions has failed to show the leadership that world cricket requires," Buchanan wrote in his column on the ABC website. "Through their actions or inactions, they are threatening the future of the game. "While I do not honestly think the game's longevity is at issue, cricket's ability to 'shoot itself in the foot' has once again been admirably displayed. "Through the advent of the Twenty20 game format, cricket has only recently lurched from the debacle of the World Cup final, the mishandling of the (Bob) Woolmer death and the inglorious debate about Murali, the world's greatest wicket-taker." But Buchanan has also questioned whether "monkey", the term used by Harbhajan towards Australia's Andrew Symonds, is racist. "When I was growing up as a young fella, 'you little monkey' was a common colloquial reference for all children due to our ability to be a bit cheeky at times," he said. "Now, it is a racist term. How the world changes - still that is not really the issue." (someone please explain this to me- you can say this to your children, it is doubtful whether this is a racist term but still that is not the issue WTF does that mean??)

[Chandan]

How about this? ICC asks CA to reign in Ponting & Co Press Trust Of India Melbourne, January 09, 2008 First Published: 10:14 IST(9/1/2008) Last Updated: 10:40 IST(9/1/2008) The ICC has urged Cricket Australia to reign in Ricky Ponting's men in the light of all-round criticism of their on-field behaviour during the ill-tempered second Test against India. ICC CEO Malcolm Speed said CA needs to take notice of the criticism being directed at its team by the public, former players and commentators. "The team is being criticised, members of the team are being criticised and they need to to be aware of that -- they need to respond to that," Speed was quoted saying in the 'Herald Sun'. "All national teams should play cricket in the right spirit. We need to be clear what that means," he said. Speed said he was relieved that the replacement of umpire Steve Bucknor prevented an international crisis.

[Ram]

Of course CA will say its behind Ponting and team. At this current juncture, when the whole Aus team is under fire from various quarters, the last thing the team needs is further castigation from its board.

[beetle]

Ponting criticised by Australia's sports minister. Sahara TV

[Dooks]

Ponting criticised by Australia's sports minister. Sahara TV

Do you have the video link?

[beetle]

nah...it was on TV...not sure if one should believe it though. Most of them are trying to out do each other in Breaking news.....