Cricket Australia won’t budge on public sledges

 

Cricket Australia is standing by its policy of gagging players from publicly criticising rivals even though they acknowledge much worse is said on the field.

• Time to draw line on all this argy-Bhaji

 

Yesterday, Adam Gilchrist defended Matthew Hayden after he was reprimanded for insulting Harbhajan Singh.

Hayden was cautioned for breaching CA’s rules on not making "denigrating comments" about other players after he told a Brisbane radio station Harbhajan was an "obnoxious little weed". The Indian spinner hit back by claiming Hayden was disliked by other international players.

"You would be very naive to think that words are not exchanged out on the field," CA spokesman Peter Young said while ruling out a review of the policy. "[But] it is possible to have frank, fearless, intelligent and meaningful discussions about cricket without being disrespectful."

Gilchrist said it didn’t matter what others thought of Hayden because he was highly regarded by his teammates.

"I’ve not ever cared to think what other teams think of Matthew Hayden. He’s one of the most well-respected people in our team so that’s all that interests me."

The Indians, meanwhile, yesterday attempted to deflect attention away from the brewing tension by claiming quotes attributed to an unnamed Indian player and published in the Hindustan Times had been fabricated. The player reportedly said Hayden was "insane" and "asking for a fight".

"These quotes are a figment of someone’s imagination," team manager Bimal Soni said. "We have moved on."

With a summer of controversy and spite to wind up with the one-day finals series starting in Sydney on Sunday, Gilchrist said the Australian players had grown tired of the focus on the behaviour of both sides.

"I think everyone’s over it a little bit now, just trying to get on with the finals and play some cricket," he said.

"I’m glad I’m not amongst it. But I don’t think any player intends to set out to be a part of it. It’s sort of by-products of passion and loyalty to teammates and trying to play the game as hard and as fair as possible.

"Sometimes you don’t always make the right decisions and sometimes others perceive what you’ve said or done or your actions as being different to what they actually were intended. It’s difficult for everyone."

The retiring wicketkeeper, who plays his final international at the MCG tonight against Sri Lanka, said the series had taken a toll on him and he did not regret his decision to step down.

"There’s been a lot on. I haven’t played in too many summers where constantly there’s been any number of issues you could bring to mind that have sort of always been there throughout the whole season," Gilchrist said. "It’s been tough work for everybody."

Meanwhile, CA officials and players’ association boss Paul Marsh will travel to Canberra next week to speak with government officials about the safety of touring Pakistan.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is working on a revised tour schedule for March-April and CA will wait to see details before sending a pre-tour security team to assess the risks in the volatile country. Players have expressed fears about travelling to Pakistan, although there has been limited violence in the country since parliamentary elections last week.

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has insisted the Australians must tour. "Look, I have been living in Pakistan now for the last few months and there are one or two places where security is an issue," he said at a press conference in Pakistan. "But apart from that Pakistan remains a safe place to play cricket.

"Pakistani people are very hospitable, love their cricket and are looking forward to this series against the Australians.

"If they don’t come it will be a big disappointment, not only for the fans but also for the sport in general in the country … I think we must have this series. Australia must tour."