Matthew Hayden was let off with a reprimand by CA for calling Harbhajan Singh an “obnoxious little weed” after the Australian opener pleaded that he didn’t mean to “denigrate” anyone.
SYDNEY: Matthew Hayden was let off with a reprimand by Cricket Australia (CA) for calling Harbhajan Singh an “obnoxious little weed” after the Australian opener pleaded that he didn’t mean to “denigrate” anyone.
The reprimand followed a three-hour late-night hearing after CA boss James Sutherland levelled charges against the opener for breaching the CA’s Code of Behaviour by launching a verbal assault against the Indian off-spinner during a radio interview.
The decision to take action, the CA said, was its own initiative and had nothing to do with Indian team management’s recent complaint against the behaviour of the Australian team. Nor was it, the CA added, under pressure from the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The BCCI said it brought the matter to CA’s notice though it did not lodge an official complaint.
The hearing in Melbourne was attended by Hayden, his lawyer and CA’s code of conduct commissioner Ron Beazley. Also present were Paul Marsh, CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and Dean Carlow, CA’s legal adviser. Hayden, who was called to the CA office at 2 in the afternoon, left at around midnight.
After the hearing, CA handed out a terse two-sentence release that it had issued Hayden a reprimand.
Hayden was charged under Rule 9 of the CA Code of Behaviour, which prohibits detrimental public comment.
Though Hayden pleaded innocence, the Aussie opener said he accepted the verdict. “I maintain my innocence. My intentions were never to denigrate cricket or anyone. The umpires made the decision and in the spirit of code of behaviour and our great game of cricket, I accept and respect the decision,” Hayden said.
On the finals, he said: “We want to win it as badly as any other trophy.”
Earlier, the Indian team management refused to comment on Hayden’s remarks saying the Indian board had taken up the matter with CA. “We’ve been told not to react to Hayden’s provocations. We’re here to play cricket and we don’t want to join issues with them,” Bimal Soni, manager of the Indian team, told reporters at the Indian team’s hotel in Sydney. However, the manager was not aware that Harbhajan had reacted to Hayden’s remarks saying it was out of the Australians’ “frustration that they are no longer undisputed champions”.
The BCCI too refused comment. Its secretary Niranjan Shah, however, confirmed that the Board has asked to the players to stay calm during the tri-series finals. The first final will be played at the SCG on Sunday night..
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