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Brendon McCullum revisited the scene of his alleged crime against cricket yesterday, reiterating he had no regrets about his controversial running out of Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan during the first test on Saturday.
The New Zealand wicketkeeper's dismissal of the careless tailender - who left his crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on scoring a century at Jade Stadium while the ball was still in play - has been either pilloried or praised.
McCullum, who trained at the ground yesterday, said he was shocked by the adverse reaction following what was a legitimate dismissal to end Sri Lanka's second innings.
"I didn't expect the repercussions from it, it's been pretty hard to swallow," he said. "I'm a proud New Zealander, playing for my country, I've done nothing wrong."
Had Muralitharan, the last Sri Lankan wicket to go, waited for the outfield return to strike McCullum's gloves before setting off to embrace his partner, there would have been no dramas.
But Muralitharan's folly and McCullum's instant response sparked an ethical debate about whether the Black Cap had acted in the spirit of the game.
McCullum and his teammates were steadfast yesterday, saying they were within their rights to execute a dismissal which left Sangakkara stranded on 100 - and New Zealand needing 119 to win, a target they achieved with the loss of five wickets.
"I never thought it the wrong thing to do, the rules are there and you can't reward stupidity," McCullum said.
Nathan Astle was adamant McCullum was beyond reproach.
"We're fully behind Baz, he was definitely out. I've been surprised by the reaction - it's totally unjustified."
Astle was also surprised when the Sri Lankans claimed he received the benefit of the doubt when he prematurely strayed out of his crease against them during the Champions Trophy in India in October.
Astle said he could not recall the incident though Sangakkara had clear recollections yesterday.
He said Astle hit the ball to Sanath Jayasuriya though it stopped before it reached the fielder. He went out to tap the wicket and when Jayasuriya returned the ball to him at the stumps Astle was out of his ground.
"I could have broken the stumps but I knew there wasn't a run being attempted," Sangakkara said.
"I said jokingly 'you should know better than that'. It was all in fun, it would have been pretty absurd of me to break the stumps."
However, Saturday was no laughing matter and Sangakkara, while acknowledging an apologetic Murali was at fault, was still disappointed at the Black Caps reaction.
"Players take it for granted, once the ball's gone you're allowed a certain leeway when it comes to courtesies extended between sides.
"Murali was out but it's a case of how you want to interpret the rules. A lot is said about match referees and umpires being the guardians of the game but the players have a lot of responsibility as well."
Sangakkara cited an example where Australian Andrew Symonds had been adjudged leg before wicket although the umpire swiftly admitted he had made a mistake because the ball had hit the bat.
"He went to [then captain] Marvan Atapattu and asked him to recall him. We did and Symonds nearly won them the game."
Meanwhile, Mathew Sinclair hoped the issue would not fester between the teams when the second test starts at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Friday.
"The Sri Lankan cricketers are the best I've played against. They're outgoing, friendly people," Sinclair said, describing the bond between the two countries since the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004. "We've gone out of our way to help Sri Lanka. We take a lot of pride in sending money to them."
NZ Cricket raised more than $1 million for the establishment of two cricket villages for children.
- NZPA
