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Cricket

India to continue Aussie tour

08/01/2008

India have confirmed they will continue with their tour of Australia, despite initially announcing a boycott following Harbhajan Singh's ban.

The spinner was handed a three-Test suspension following a four-hour hearing with the International Cricket Council (ICC), at which it was alleged Harbhajan called Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds a "monkey".

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has appealed the ban and also said it will consider re-imposing its boycott of tour if the action fails.

A date for the appeal hearing is yet to be set, although it could happen before the beginning of the third Test on January 16th.

The initial boycott meant India's players refused to fly to Canberra for a tour match, which had been scheduled as a precursor to the third and final Test against the Australians at the Wacca in Perth.

A statement from the BCCI at the time, in which it pleaded the innocence of Harbhajan, confirmed the action and the subsequent appeal.

"The Indian board realises the game of cricket is paramount but so too is the honour of the Indian team and for that matter every Indian," the statement read.

"To vindicate its position, the board will fight the blatantly false and unfair slur on an Indian player."

Back home, Indian cricket fans had burned effigies of the umpires, Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor, who have also been under fire for a number of incorrect decisions during the series.

Bucknor has since been replaced by New Zealand official Billy Bowden for the third Test in a bid to ease tensions.

And ICC chief referee Ranjan Madugalle is set to fly out to Australia to chair a meeting between the two captains, Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble, in order to thrash out their differences and ensure the upcoming Test match is played within the "spirit of the game".