KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY - Matthew Hayden labelled Harbhajan Singh "an obnoxious little weed".
India's cricket bosses sent an official letter of complaint to match referee Jeff Crowe about the Australian team's on-field behaviour, while India's players accused their opponents of instigating all the on-field stoushes.
Australian spinner Brad Hogg then told the Indians to "stop whingeing" and if they can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Welcome to another week of verbal serve and volley in the never-ending summer of sledging, as the teams prepare to clash in the tri-series finals starting on Sunday.
Just in case anyone thought the Australians were starting to warm to Harbhajan, India's combative offspinner, Hayden left Brisbane radio listeners in no doubt.
"It's been a bit of a long battle with Harbhajan," Hayden said.
"The first time I ever met him he was the same little obnoxious weed that he is now.
"His record speaks for itself in cricket. There is a certain line that you can kind of go to and then you know where you push it and he just pushes it all the time.
"That's why he has been charged more than anyone that's ever played in the history of cricket."
Hayden's outburst will amuse more than a few international cricketers, including the New Zealanders who quietly rated the big opening batsman as Australia's most obnoxious sledger of past series.
In the past week, Harbhajan and Australian captain Ricky Ponting had heated exchanges in Adelaide and continued it as the teams shook hands afterwards, then young Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma was fined 15 per cent of his match fee by Crowe for giving Andrew Symonds a verbal sendoff and pointing him to the dressing room in Sydney.
Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni later claimed Sharma was reacting to provocative comments from Symonds.
Hayden's comments followed a letter to Crowe, the former New Zealand captain and manager, from Indian team manager Bimal Soni.
In excerpts published in the Indian media this week, the letter implores Crowe to rein in the Australians.
It listed incidents "where Indian players were subjected to abuse on the field which have been noticed by the on-field umpires".
"Even if we have tried to play in the spirit of the game, some of the players from the Australian side have made a few comments that has brought disharmony to the game," the letter stated.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah also told the players he didn't want to see any more "incidents", and to go to the umpires or Crowe with any issues.
Dhoni suggested the Australians were the instigators and admitted his young players needed to be smarter sledgers.
"It's been going on for a long time and you have to be careful about that," he said.
"If you're getting provoked then there are ways in which you can reply so you have to be careful about it."
But it seems Australians are beginning to tire of India's complaints, stretching back to early January when they threatened to boycott the tour over Harbhajan's alleged monkey taunts to Symonds, for which he was later cleared.
Wrote respected cricket writer Robert Craddock today: "Australian players and many fans are fed up with India's constant bleating and threats to boycott matches."
Hogg agreed, using a famed line from former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga in the process.
"I've really had a gutsful of their whingeing. This is international sport, obviously people are going to say things to try to unsettle you," Hogg said.
"It's not tiddlywinks. As long as it's not racial they shouldn't have a problem."
- NZPA
