It appears the small break between the back to back Tests is not enough for everyone to have their say. While the Australian captain is crying foul, former England coach, Duncan Fletcher has retorted that Ponting should not be talking about it while the referee decrees – all fair.
Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, put off with the England physio, Steve McCaig, and the twelfth man, Bilal Shafayat , making a couple of rendezvous with James Anderson and Monty Panesar as the duo battled to successfully pull of a miraculous draw for England in the first Test of the Ashes at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
In Ponting’s opinion, it constituted time wasting and went against the spirit of the game.
But the match referee has refused to pass a ruling simply because the on field umpires, Aleem Dar and Billy Doctrove, did not report as that being the case.
However, former England coach, Duncan Fletcher, who was part of the England management when England won the 2005 Ashes, has stated that Ponting should be in no position to be talking about the spirit of cricket when he and his team have been guilty of violating it the most.
Fletcher slammed the Australian team for sledging and repeated intimidation of the umpires for decisions during the 2005 Ashes. He did not believe that Ponting or his men has improved and he did not think that as the worst team when it comes to conforming to the gentleman’s game should be preaching to the England team ahead of the second Test at Lord’s.
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