By IANS
Sydney : Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who equalled his predecessor Steve Waugh’s winning streak of 16 consecutive Test victories Sunday, said he was hurt by comments that he had opened a ‘Pandora’s box’ by reporting alleged racial comments made by Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.
“I was particularly disappointed to hear television commentators suggest during the Test that I was a ‘dobber’ who had opened a ‘Pandora’s box’ for making a report of what I believed was racial abuse towards Andrew Symonds,” the Australian said in his column in The Australian.
A ‘dobber’ is kind of a slang in Australian for an ‘informer’ or a ‘stool pigeon’ and it can also be interpreted as a ‘cry baby’ or a ‘whiner’.
“When I heard what had taken place with Andrew I immediately informed the umpires and then left the field at the end of the over to inform our team manager, which is what we are instructed to do.
“There is absolutely no place for racism in sport or in society generally and I fully support the International Cricket Council’s anti-racism policy. All our players are very aware of their responsibility,” he said.
Ponting said that making the report was not something he wanted to do but had to do.
“I had nothing to gain personally from taking this action. I was doing the right thing by the game,” he said.
Ponting also wrote: “Under Steve’s captaincy we signed a collective pledge to uphold and enhance that spirit. And since I took over from him, I have taken it on myself to personally ensure that each new member of the team is fully aware of his responsibilities to the game.”
Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and eminent cricket writer Peter Roebuck have criticised the Australian captain for his team’s unsporting behaviour in the Sydney Test, which they won by 122 runs against India Sunday.
“Everyone in the Australian team knows how important the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ is to the way we play the game. 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,” said Ponting.
The ‘Spirit of Cricket’ was a document put together in 2003 by former Australia coach John Buchanan with former captain Steve Waugh. It spelt out Australia’s desired code of conduct.
Gavaskar, who was commentating during the eventful Sydney Test, called the Australians ‘hypocrites’ while Roebuck in his column said: “Ricky Ponting must be sacked as captain of the Australian cricket team.”