Former England captains blast Ponting’s behaviour

LONDON - England’s former Test captains have criticised Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for his lengthy argument with Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar during the fourth Ashes Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Ponting got into a confrontation with Dar after Kevin Pietersen was declared not out courtesy a video referral on the second day’s play of the Boxing Day Test. Ponting was subsequently fined 40 percent of his match fee for breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) code of conduct.

Andrew Flintoff, who captained England during their last Ashes when the team lost 0-5, took a dig at Ponting on his twitter account.

“Don’t think Santa brought Ponting the Barbie he asked for. Apparently he got the horse riding one instead of the princess and he is still sulking,” Flintoff tweeted.

Nasser Hussain said Ponting’s behaviour showed he was under a lot of pressure as Australia are on the verge of losing the Ashes on their home soil.

“Ponting’s outburst at both umpires when Kevin Pietersen was given not out by technology was a reflection of the fact that the Australian captain is under a huge amount of pressure - he has always been like that,” Hussain was quoted as saying The Daily Mail.

Hussain opined that Australian cricketers generally do not respect umpires and it was no surprise that Ponting lashed out at the umpire.

“There are cultural differences too. I remember when Mark Waugh came to Essex, he launched a stream of invective at an umpire who called him for a no-ball after turning down an lbw decision and we were all taken aback.”

Mike Gatting, who experienced a similar situation during England’s tour of Pakistan in 1987 where he had objected to a decision by umpire Shakoor Rana, said Ponting’s act summed up his frustration.

“You can question the umpire once but Ricky has gone and questioned the umpire again.

“He is really frustrated, I am sure, and he is a passionate guy, but we can’t have that, especially when the umpire review system has been brought into place,” said Gatting, the last England captain to win an Ashes series in Australia.