Cricket: And now, a @$*% word from the losing team

Australia's cricketers may be on top of the world, but they have plummeted in the estimation of sections of the sporting media after a spiteful fourth test in the Caribbean.

Their loss to the West Indies in that test prevented a historic clean sweep of the series.

In Australia, national and Sydney newspapers have condemned the "boorish" behaviour of the Australian side, focusing on fast bowler Glenn McGrath who was involved in an ugly finger-pointing incident with West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan as the Windies navigated towards their unlikely victory in Antigua this week.

The West Indies won the fourth test by three wickets, although the 3-1 series win returned Australia to the top of the test rankings.

But McGrath's petulance and other outbursts as the game slipped away left a sour taste.

"Regardless of the result, the Australians have done nothing to enhance their reputations as sportsmen," Peter Roebuck wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"If victory cannot be achieved without recourse to the sort of antagonism seen in Antigua, then it is not worth bothering about."

The paper's cricket correspondent, Trevor Marshallsea, said the team had acquired a reputation not only for winning, but winning ugly.

And when things don't go to plan, things can get very ugly indeed.

After being hit for 21 off his previous two overs, "McGrath resorted to a favoured team tactic - sledging. A remark to the batsman about some unnatural dealings with Brian Lara brought a swift riposte.

"The bowler then moved menacingly to the crease and, pointing to Sarwan, said: 'If you ever *** mention my wife again, I will *** rip your *** throat out'."

Columnist Patrick Smith, writing in The Australian, said: "What McGrath said to Sarwan was uncouth, unpleasant and unsophisticated. Adolescent boys think of cleverer lines."

McGrath took exception to a reference to his wife Jane, who is recovering from a secondary bout of cancer.

But, said Smith, it was McGrath who set the tone of the debate.

- NZPA