Ponting apologises for his on-field argument with umpires

MELBOURNE - Australia captain Ricky Ponting has apologised for his on-field argument with the umpires, but insisted that Engalnd batsman Kevin Pietersen was out on the second day of the Boxing Day Test.

Ponting was fined 40 per cent of his match fee on Monday night after the confrontation with umpires Aleem Dar and Tony Hill.

The Australian skipper was infuriated at the time that the video referral did not give Pietersen out caught behind.

While Ponting pleaded guilty and accepted his penalty on Monday night, he said he has also watched video replays again and remains adamant that Pietersen had an inside edge.

“There’s no doubt my actions on the field yesterday have caused a massive reaction overnight and I just wanted to get my points across about it,” Ponting told ABC radio on Tuesday morning.

“I understand I overstepped the mark yesterday, I was charged with dissent, for having a prolonged discussion with the umpires out in the middle. Looking back on it last night, I realised it didn’t look good,” FOX Sports quoted him, as saying.

“The facts of the matter are that the umpires vouched for me actually in the meeting last night, they said at no time was I aggressive or showed any malice to them out there.

“It’s just the discussion went longer than it should have … I understand it set a bad example for captains out there and youngsters looking up to me as the Australian captain,” Ponting said.

Ponting and other Australia players challenged the umpires after watching video replays of Pietersen’s shot on the MCG big screen.

There was a “hot spot” on the inside edge of Pietersen’s bat, but the wide consensus is that it was not near where the ball passed, something Ponting disputes. (ANI)