London, July 16: Australian skipper Ricky Ponting may be fuming at England’s delaying tactics during the drawn first Test, but off-spinner Nathan Hauritz claims he would not hesitate to follow a similar strategy in a similar situation.
Ponting was furious after England sent out their physio along with 12th man Bilal Shafayat in an apparent attempt at time wasting as the last pair of Monty Panesar and James Anderson battled to prevent a humiliating defeat.
Ponting later claimed that his side would ‘play by the rules and the spirit of the game
‘ during the series but Hauritz has gone against his captain’s wishes by insisting England were right to slow the match down.
”I know if it was me in that situation I wouldn’t be facing up as quick every ball because it’s an extremely nervous situation and that one wicket determines a 1-0 or a 0-0 score line.
”They did their job they batted, we didn’t make anything out of it. If I’m in that situation, if I called for gloves they wouldn’t care, so it’s going to be good but it’s part of the game,” Hauritz said.
”At the end of the day they had to last, they had to survive for the last 60-odd balls and they spaced out their allotted amount of overs.
”People could say that we were rushing through our overs to get more balls at them so I don’t think anything has been made out of it at all by us. It’s dead and buried. It’s just part of the game and we’re just focusing on Lord’s at the moment,” the off-spiiner was quoted as saying by the ‘Daily Mail’.
The controversy was one of several spats between the two teams during the opening Test in Cardiff. England batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson traded insults during a warm-up before the Test had even started and had to be separated by Stuart Clark.
In a separate incident, Stuart Broad appeared to shoulder barge Peter Siddle during the fast bowler’s follow-through.
However, Hauritz believes that the clashes build up interest among the fans and will also help the Australians to motivate themselves.
”In the 2005 series, I think Australia said they were too chummy with the English at times and the English got under our skins,” he remarked.
”I think it’s fantastic for the game to see it’s a battle out on the field. It’s an amazing adrenalin rush when you’re in front of the crowd.
”I think it’s great for the game and I think those battles are just going to continue throughout the series,” he added.
—–Agencies