CA concerned over Ponting’s behaviour

Kuala Lumpur: Captain Ricky Ponting has been rapped on the knuckles by Cricket Australia who said his behaviour was a concern after he was fined for dissent by the International Cricket Council.

“Let’s be clear, Cricket Australia doesn’t condone any actions that go outside the spirit of cricket,” Cricket Australia’s acting chief executive Michael Brown was quoted as saying by Australian media.

“We’ve worked very hard with Ricky and our players to ensure it is observed at all times.”

Ponting on Wednesday apologised for a “serious error of judgement” after confronting umpire Asad Rauf over a wide delivery in their DLF Cup one-day match against the West Indies in the Malaysian capital.

He was fined his entire match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct by “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. It’s a concern for Ricky and it’s a concern for us,” Brown told Melbourne newspaper The Age.

“But the fact he’s taken the initiative to publicly and privately address these issues will ensure he and his team go forward from here. We’ve got to be positive in that regard. In the end what matters is that the Australian cricket team will continue to play this series hard and fair. We look forward to him learning from the experience.”

It was Ponting’s second offence this year. The other took place during the second Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong in April.