We’ll play our cricket

“Everybody knows who the bad boys in cricket are,” he said in a veiled remark to Australia’s sledging reputation. “I have encountered enough on this tour. I just want to stay away from all this now. I’m used to it, it doesn’t make a difference any more. Let them keep talking, we’ll play our cricket.

“Maybe they know that we are challenging them and have done well against them. That’s why they are coming out with words like that,” he said, rushing to join Sachin Tendulkar .

Even team manager Vimal Soni seemed to brush aside the issue. “We have nothing to do with what CA is doing about it. Our job is to play cricket and not get involved in what others say,” said Soni when asked for his reaction to the Hayden let-off .

“Nobody is bothered about what Hayden has said and what CA has done on him. We are focusing on cricket only, to play the finals in Sydney and Brisbane,” Soni added.

In Mumbai, secretary Shah refused to react, saying: “Hayden made the comments off the field and we have nothing to comment on CA’s decision. That is the CA’s internal matter.”

Rain in Sydney

Meanwhile, it has been raining in Sydney and the forecast is more rains in the coming week too.

The showers may or may not interrupt what might be an engrossing final here, but it certainly looked symbolic: the temperatures from the heat generated between the two teams have cooled down considerably.

... contd.