Australian players disregarding the baggy green: Lawson

Sydney, Jan 9 (UNI) Former Australian Test player and now Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson today said the current Australian team had dishonoured the nation with their arrogant behaviour in the second Test that was played at the SCG.

Lawson said, ''Australians did not play within the spirit of the game in their 122-run second Test win over India at the SCG last week.'' ''The Australian cricket team is considered 'arrogant' by the rest of the cricket world and it's time the players were pulled into line for their behaviour,'' Lawson said while speaking to Sydney radio station 2KY.

He added, ''Perception is everything and the outside world thinks the Australian team is arrogant and not well behaved.'' ''There's certainly been a lot of feeling from ex-players who think the baggy green has been disrespected,'' Lawson said.

''Some of these Australian players need to be spoken to. I just think a bit of counselling needs to be done with how these players perceive themselves,'' he added.

Lawson, a former pace bowler, made his comments only hours after the head of the International Cricket Council said he had warned Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland about the on-field behaviour of the Australian team.

''As an ex-Australian player I was pretty disappointed,'' he said.

Appreciating ICC's stand on the whole issue, Lawson said the International Cricket Council have handled the fallout from the controversial Test 'reasonably well' and made a sensible solution in sacking umpire Steve Bucknor from the third Test in Perth.

However, Lawson believes that the fallout from the Harbhajan Singh's racism charge and the subsequent allegations of on-field verbal abuse by Australia's Brad Hogg could change the cricketing landscape.

UNI XC RKM KP1255