'Lara's men deliberately stayed away'

MELBOURNE: Australian captain Ricky Ponting wants the International Cricket Council to take action against the West Indies cricketers for giving a miss to the ICC Awards' function hours before their Champions Trophy final.

Ponting, who was visibly disappointed at the Caribbeans, said Brian Lara's men deliberately stayed away from the show held in Mumbai because they were preparing and wanted to get extra rest before the D-day.

"We all had to go. No choice. No option. The agreement that we signed said we had to attend one official function through the course of the month and that function was last night. We all got there and we did what was required of us, and others didn't," he said.

The West Indies blamed their absence on the baggage problems following their hour-long flight although they had sent coach Bennett King to the black-tie function.