It would be an exaggeration to say that the first Ashes Test ended in acrimony. However, if you were to read what the media has to say about the obvious delaying tactics used by England, it appears as if the first salvo in World War II has been fired.
This frenzy is partly due to the media's wish to sustain the hype around this series. It can also be put down to the fact that a lot of cricketers both former and current have become experts in using these situations to gain their 5 minutes of fame.
To recount, England employed some time-wasting tactics during the 5 th day of the Cardiff Test. Now this is something most teams do. In this case England deliberately over did it to get under the prickly Ponting's nose.
To a large extent they succeeded. Ponting promptly lashed out at them in the media and elsewhere and also went to the extent of making his disappointment over the lack of official censure public.
Ideally, it should have stopped there. Both sides know that they would resort to delaying tactics to stave off defeat. An Australian bowler even admitted that even he would have done something similar.
The media, however, is in no mood to relent. Duncan Fletcher, former coach of England, has tried to get Ponting fuming by suggesting that as Ponting himself has a vague conception of 'sportsmanship': he has no right to accuse others for the lack off it.
I expect this issue to simmer until there is some other controversy, but until then, I will enjoy the fact that someone had the keen intellect to discern that Ponting is 'vague'.
