Australians branded rude after podium incident

NEW DELHI—Australia were criticised for rude behaviour on Tuesday after members of their triumphant squad pushed aside the Indian board president on the Champions Trophy victory podium.
Television pictures showed batsman Damien Martyn placing a hand on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar to move him as the players posed for pictures with the trophy at Mumbai’s Brabourne stadium in Maharashtra.
Leading Indian newspapers carried pictures of the incident, which happened seconds after Pawar, Indias Agriculture minister, presented the trophy to Australian skipper Ricky Ponting.
“This is how champions behave when they get the trophy,” read the caption of a front page article in the Indian Express.
“They are supposed to be aggressive, even rude, on the field. On Sunday, after winning their maiden Champions Trophy in Mumbai, Australia showed they are not exactly polite off it too,” said an article in The Times of India.
India batsman Sachin Tendulkar was also critical. “It was an unpleasant experience and uncalled for,” he told reporters. “Such things should not happen, for sure.
“It is important to give respect to your elders, especially to those who are so dear to the cricketers and are involved with them.” Pawar and senior BCCI officials played down the incident.
“It was a small thing, a stupid thing. I don’t even want to react,” Pawar was quoted as saying. “It looks unintentional,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said. “They must have done that in their enthusiasm. “It is not in good taste, but it is not an issue.”
World champions Australia defeated West Indies by eight wickets in the rain-hit final to claim their maiden Champions Trophy, the second most important one-day tournament in world cricket.
Throughout Tuesday private television channels played in slow motion Australian skipper Ricky Ponting gesturing to Pawar to hand over the trophy.
In a northern suburb of Mumbai, hundreds of people protested against the winning team’s behaviour and painted two donkeys in Australian one-day colours with the names Ponting and Martyn written on them.
Maharashtra state officials expressed disappointment over the incident and said they would demand an apology from Cricket Australia.
“We will also write to the International Cricket Council,” said Chhagan Bhujbal, a minister in the Maharashtra government.—Agencies