'Sledging is something that Australia have always done'

MELBOURNE: Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash has thrown his weight behind beleaguered Harbhajan Singh, saying the Indian is not the kind of person to racially abuse somebody.

Ramprakash, who is former Surrey teammate of Harbhajan, said he believed in the innocence of the off-spinner.

"I have played with Harbhajan for two seasons at Surrey and, having got to know him well, it's not the kind of thing I imagine he would say," Ramprakash said.

Ramprakash turned the heat on Australia and said the only time he faced racist comments in his cricketing career was against them.

"The only time I have suffered any abuse of a serious racial kind in international cricket is against the Australians so I am not sure what that says about them."

"I have played cricket for a long time now and you expect it (racism) now and again from a few supporters who are tanked up after drinking all day," Ramprakash was quoted as saying in 'Herald Sun' on Wednesday.

Ramprakash, whose father was born in Guyana of Indian parents, said sledging has been a part of Australian armoury.

"As for the sledging, it is something that Australia have always done," he said.

"This is not something which has got worse, they play the game hard and trying to put you off by sledging is the way they have always played the game."

Harbhajan has been banned for three-matches for allegedly racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test and his appeal against the ban is pending.