That8217;s normal behaviour for Oz: Fleming

Stephen Fleming is surprised at the all round criticism of the Aus team as they were, he believes, their usual agressive self.

Bemused by the furore that has engulfed the ongoing India-Australia Test series, former New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming said all-round condemnation of Ricky Ponting8217;s team has surprised him as the world champions were their usual aggressive self in the controversial Sydney Test.

8220;The intensity of the debate, and the situation where the Australians are being criticised by their own, is probably the greatest surprise,8221; Fleming was quoted as saying by NZPA.

8220;They play hard over there 8212; they do create pressure on the umpires by playing hard, constant cricket,8221; he added.

Ponting has come in for scathing criticism for his team8217;s abrasive behaviour during their record-equalling 16th straight Test win in Sydney after a string of umpiring howlers robbed India of a chance to draw the game.

The Australian skipper8217;s racial abuse complaint against Indian off spinner Harbhajan Singh added fuel to the fire and Fleming said the matter, which looked a bit 8220;schoolboyish8221; initially, became a mess because of lack of independent evidence.

8220;The Harbhajan aspect is interesting. It sounds like there is a case there to be answered, it8217;s the player8217;s word against another 8211; without the match officials it8217;s very messy,8221; he said.

8220;It does look a little bit schoolboyish, though the racial issue does cause concern for a lot of players. There8217;s been a big push to stamp it out,8221; he added. Fleming said the Australians are known to play hard and put pressure on umpires with aggressive appealing and it was important to retain some of that fire in the game or else it would become dull.

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8220;How do you deem pressure? Is it excessive appealing? Is it appealing ball after ball if it hits the pads 8230; is it having 10 fielders around the bat?8221; he asked.

8220;If we keep diluting it the game can become a bit boring. To have a bit of controversy when you8217;re not involved is not a bad thing,8221; he said.

However, another set of former New Zealand players lambasted the Australians and said the world champions acted like cry-babies by reporting Harbhajan.

John Morrison, Dipak Patel and Simon Doull said they were amazed by the double standards of their trans-Tasmanian neighbours.

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Morrison, who played for New Zealand in the 1970s and 80s, said, 8220;They8217;ve basically run off to tell the teacher on Harbhajan Singh.8221;

8220;If the Aussies have any conscience at all, surely they8217;d be ashamed over this because it8217;s just gutless, it8217;s churlish, it8217;s childish 8211; the sort of thing you8217;d see in a playground,8221; he was quoted as saying by the Dominican Post.

8220;A lot of good cricket people around the world will not like what8217;s happened here,8221; he added.

Patel felt the Australians were themselves so foul-mouthed that they had no moral right to complain about others.

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8220;I8217;m not saying that he Harbhajan is not guilty but there8217;s been a lot worse said by Australians in the past to other opposition,8221; Patel said.

8220;What happens on the park should stay on the park. I8217;ve been called a lot worse than a monkey, to be honest with you, and it8217;s just something that you accept and it8217;s left on the field,8221; Patel opined.

Doull, a former fast bowler, felt the case against Harbhajan hardly stands in the absence of any independent evidence.

8220;From my point of view the match referee is there to do a job. If the umpires or the match referee haven8217;t seen it or heard it, there8217;s no case at all to answer,8221; he said.

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8220;Did Michael Clarke go in front of the committee when the ball bounced in front of him and he claimed a catch? Did Ponting go in front of a committee for nicking one down legside and not walking and then showing dissent when he nicks one on to his pads and gets given out lbw?8221; he asked.

8220;It would appear that there8217;s double standards at the moment,8221; he pointed out.

Former great Martin Crowe, meanwhile, was worried about the game8217;s future. Without commenting on the ongoing furore, Crowe said, 8220;I worry about the game full stop and you have to go to the core problem. The game is not run by anyone in particular, it8217;s run by all sorts of people doing their own thing. The ICC needs some governance and they need to be given it very, very quickly otherwise it will splinter off.8221;

8220;The ICC, the way it stands, doesn8217;t really have any power. The major nations of the game have to all come together and create these laws that charge the ICC with the right powers.