CA defends inaction on Clarke-Katich bust-up

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has defended the Board's inaction against Michael Clarke and Simon Katich despite their ugly dressing room showdown, saying it was a "private issue".

"This was a private issue within the walls of a dressing room, it's something that happens from time to time in sporting teams," Sutherland was quoted as saying in 'The Daily Telegraph'.

"From a Cricket Australia perspective, we didn't think it was appropriate to take any action under the code of behaviour," he said.

After winning the third Test against South Africa in Sydney, Clarke and Katich grabbed each other by the collar in the dressing room following a heated exchange over the timing of singing the team song, ironically meant to foster unity in the side.

Sutherland played down the incident and said such flare-ups are not unusual and there is no need to punish the players.

"In the happiest of families there are from time to time incidents or flare-ups. I haven't spoken to the players but people within our organisation have spoken with them and I know they have moved on and continue to work through whatever issues they had," he said.