One of the most respected names in Australian cricket circles today called for the sacking of captain Ricky Ponting for turning “a group of professional cricketers into wild dogs” and said it’s a surprise why the Indians haven’t gone home yet since “there is no justice for them in this country, nor any manners”.

Writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Roebuck, who commands respect Down Under, described the home side’s win “the ugliest performance put up by an Australian side for 20 years.”

“If Cricket Australia cares a fig for the tattered reputation of our national team in our national sport, it will not for a moment longer tolerate the sort of arrogant and abrasive conduct seen from the captain and his senior players over the past few days. Beyond comparison it was the ugliest performance put up by an Australian side for 20 years. The only surprising part of it is that the Indians have not packed their bags and gone home. There is no justice for them in this country, nor any manners,” he wrote.

Roebuck also tore into other senior Australian players, writing, “That the senior players in the Australian team are oblivious to the fury they raised among many followers of the game in this country and beyond merely confirms their own narrow and self-obsessed viewpoint. Doubtless they were not exposed to the messages that poured in from distressed enthusiasts aghast to see the scenes of bad sportsmanship and triumphalism presented at the SCG during and after the Test. Pained past players rang to express their disgust. It was a wretched and ill-mannered display and not to be endured from any side, let alone an international outfit representing a proud sporting nation.”

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