Don’t worry, we’ll take harshest action against racism: CA

“We don’t need to go any further than we went last year in terms of educating the public about coming to the cricket and enjoying themselves,” Sutherland was quoted as saying the ‘Herald Sun.

“I’m not concerned about it (racist abuse). We had a major campaign last year to increase awareness and understanding. People know where the line is drawn,” he said.

However, CA would still launch a campaign to warn spectators against hurling abuses at the visitors.

The board is reportedly also planning to put anti-racism messages on beer cans to get the message across in a country, which has had its fair share of spectator problems.

“There is no place for racism in cricket. We will take the strictest, harshest action possible if there are incidents,” Sutherland said.

The board faces a challenging task of crowd management as the Sri Lankan team arrives for a two-Test series next month followed by the Indians in December.

The Aussie spectators have been extremely hostile to Muttiah Muralitharan and their relentless heckling of the Lankan off-spinner had forced him to skip tours Down Under in the past.

He returns to the country this week and is on the threshold of overtaking local hero Shane Warne as the highest Test wicket-taker.

Although several Australian players have appealed to the fans to behave themselves and not abuse Muralitharan, fears remain that the off-spinner could be subjected to abuse as he prepares to overtake Warne.

However, Sutherland is confident that the fans would treat Muralitharan with respect.

“He has been to Australia before. The mere fact that he is coming is fantastic for cricket and we are very much looking forward to seeing him on our shores and doing his best,” he said.

The Indian tour promises even more fireworks after the ill-tempered ODI series which concluded last week. The infamous ‘monkey chantings’ directed towards all-rounder Andrew Symonds has raised fears that Indian cricketers could have a tough time coping with the crowd abuse here.