The team enjoyed a relaxed evening, getting to sample the great cuisine and wines. But Kumble had a busy schedule, with another appointment with a caller on his phone. It was Michael Clarke, the Australian captain-in-waiting, did manage to get through to Kumble finally after admitting to have been trying him for the past few days.

The Australian batsman seems to have sorted out the contentious issues raised by the Indian skipper after the acrimonious Sydney Test. During his talk with Kumble, the Australian middle-order bat had broached the two issues that the Indian skipper had raised in a newspaper column.

“I spoke to Anil and he was actually very supportive and understood me,” Clarke said.

Kumble had slammed Clarke for dishonesty and cited the latter’s standing his ground after being clearly caught in the slips when he was yet to open account in Australia’s second innings, and his claiming a controversial low catch to remove Sourav Ganguly on the final day of the Test.

Clarke, while insisting that he did take the catch clean to remove Ganguly, admitted he waited at the crease more than he should have. But that was becasue he was shocked and disapapointed to get out the way he did after failing to score in the first innings.

“Huss (Mike Hussey) and Haydos (Matthew Hayden) were doing a fantastic job and I was waiting padded up for quite a while dying to get their in the middle. And when I got the chance, I failed again. I went to cut the ball and it came off my glove and went to slip. It was more the shock and disappointment of failing again,” he said.

... contd.