Besieged Australian test captain Ricky Ponting has no regrets in reporting Harbhajan Singh for racism, despite the snowball effect which has seen the Indian tour placed in jeopardy.
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Ponting has been attacked by several high profile ex-cricketers, including former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar and former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram, for ‘dobbing’ on Harbhajan Singh for an alleged racial outburst on day three of the SCG test. The report led to Harbhajan recieving a three-test ban by match referee Mike Proctor, in spite of a lack of hard evidence. Writing in his regular The Australian column, the Australian captain remained steadfast.
“In the spirit of playing hard but fair cricket, anyone who knows me and the way I play will be aware I do not make a point of running to umpires and making complaints,” Ponting wrote.
“Making this report is not something I wanted to do but something I had to do.
“I had nothing to gain personally from taking this action. I was doing the right thing by the game.
“I hope that what I have done will enhance the game in the future and also be an example to the wider community when it comes to dealing with the difficult issue of racism.”
Australia has suffered from a reputation of being ‘bad winners’ since becoming the standard bearers of cricket in the mid 90s. Ponting defended the behaviour of the team since the self-imposed ‘Spirit of Cricket’ was introduced in 2003.
“I think that is obvious by how few times any of our players have been reported and been forced to attend disciplinary hearings in front of match referees.”
Indian captain Anil Kumble poured fuel on the fire between the two camps when he claimed only his side played in the spirit of the game in Sydney. In what may well be a precursor to a truce, Ponting was glowing of his counterpart.
“I like Anil as a bloke and admire him as a cricketer and now captain. I have always felt he played his cricket in the right way, hard but fair. And I believe that is what we do, too,” Ponting wrote in The Australian.
Ponting says “I had nothing to gain personally from taking this action”. Right mate. Sounds more like revenge for Harbhajan’s double half rolls when he got you out one more time!!
Ponting is a sore loser .. he disgusts me and almost half the world … and his behaviour and demeanor is obnoxious and ya he is the biggest cry baby … and this australian side may be better cricket players but probably worst kind of ppl around the world and on risk of being racist we all know why australia was created in the first place… LOSER’s
Ponting should be sacked for 5 Tests, just like Rashid Latif (Pakistan) was in that Bangladesh Test, for not playing in the spirit of the game. Doing a mistake is one thing (claiming the catch which he didn’t catch cleanly), but repeatedly justifying one’s action and integrity on the basis of that mistake certainly deserves a punishment.
Ponting is a bad and sore looser, he is not a man of guts, he could not face harbhajan in 3rd test , Poor Ponting he should seek for menatl balance advice
Shameless cheats never regret! What a pathetic looser!
POINTING is an embarrassment for australian sport.
this is the same guy during the india -austalia series of 1999 when got hit by bouncer by Javangal Srinath, when srinath tried to check his well being he got abused by the so called integrity player RIcky pointing, that shows his mannerism on the field,
how about the off the field incident after the champions trophy in india where he pushed the president of another cricket board in order to jump like a frog and shout like a owl in the podium
Ponting is a highly skilled batsman but a pathetic little man.
In England in 2005 he accused the English of “cheating” when he was run out by substitute fieldsman Gary Pratt because he was a good fielder? Extensive finger pointing, shouting, bat throwing and verbal abuse ensued.
His weaknesses are not revealed too often as the team are winning so much but when the opposition fight back as India did in the second test his whining flaws quickly surface. Contrast Flintoff consoling Brett Lee at the end of the most exciting 2nd test in England 2005 when Australia came within 2 runs of saving the game and the way captain Kumble and Sharma were left to walk off with no acknowledgement from the self-satisfied Australians after the second test here in 2008.