KEY POINTS:
RICKY PONTING
Depending on where you stand at the moment, Ponting is either the greatest batsman of his generation or the embodiment of an ugly Australian. With a blue-collar Tasmanian background, Ponting has probably been knocking against perception ever since he emerged as a Sheffield Shield prodigy aged just 17. He had discipline problems when he first made the Australian team, once being involved in a fight outside a notorious King's Cross nightspot. He was groomed for the captaincy under the tough-as-teak Steve Waugh, but if Tugger had an epiphany concerning Australia's growing reputation as a team of arrogant sledgers, Ponting is yet to have his.
HARBHAJAN SINGH
Possibly sparked the ugly proceedings by, if you believe the Australians, calling Andrew Symonds a 'monkey'. However, if Australia wanted to pick a fight with anyone in this team they couldn't have picked a feistier opponent. He is fiercely independent - he was kicked out of India's version of the cricket academy - and at times anti-authoritarian, such as when Sikh clergy berated him for letting his hair down (literally) and appearing in an advertisement for whisky. He's the second-best offspinner in the world and a prize irritant, especially to Ponting.
STEVE BUCKNOR
The amiable West Indian was once the most reliable umpire on the circuit, with the accent on 'was'. At 61, Bucknor is past his prime and his shocking decision-making blighted the Sydney test and no doubt contributed massively to the fractious occasion. His most glaring examples of incompetence both involved Andrew Symonds. On the first day he gave the Queenslander not out on 30 when it was obvious beyond a shadow of a doubt that he had got a healthy edge to it. Symonds went on to an unbeaten 162. If anything, Bucknor's second game-turning clanger was even worse. On 38 and having soaked up 103 balls as India batted to save the test, Rahul 'The Wall' Dravid pulled his bat and gloves inside the line of a Symonds delivery. Imagine his shock when having had the ball harmlessly flick his front pad, Bucknor gave him out.
MIKE PROCTER
In the game of he-said/she-said over whether Singh called Symonds a 'monkey', the former South African allrounder chose to believe the Australians despite neither umpire hearing the claim and India's adamant denials. Procter suspended Harbhajan for three matches and threw the tour into doubt. It also led to the Indians counter-claiming Brad Hogg had called at least two of the Indians 'bastard', apparently a horrific slur on the subcontinent. It was poor form all round from a man who has history in this regard - he was the match referee at The Oval when Darrell Hair and Pakistan crossed swords - and could have defused both situations if he had the requisite diplomatic skills. Instead Procter decided 'to break a butterfly upon a wheel', to steal a line from Alexander Pope.
ANDREW SYMONDS
There is a reason why the Australians 'over-reacted' to the name-calling of Symonds. During their recent tour of the subcontinent Symonds regularly had to weather taunts from the crowd, who directed monkey chants at him whenever he was in the action. The behaviour appalled the Australians so you can almost understand why Ponting decided to make a big deal of it when he believed one of the Indian players had picked up on the slur. It is a curly issue because Symonds is the only player of colour in the Australian team and the monkey chant used to accompany black players in English football before they became commonplace. It also overshadowed possibly Symonds' greatest test, with contributions with both bat and ball, albeit controversially in both instances (see Bucknor).
ANIL KUMBLE
One of the most mild-mannered men in world cricket, Kumble invoked memories of Bill Woodfull and the bodyline issue when he claimed that only one team was playing within the spirit of cricket. It was powerful, heady stuff from a cricketer aliento controversy. He retained his dignity at the moment of defeat. As the not-out batsman he was left to dawdle on the field waiting to shake the hands of the victors but reached the boundary before any Australian had the grace to do so. Through all the rhetoric and fall-out, his should be the most powerful message to any Australian with a shred of introspection.
MICHAEL CLARKE
The one-time golden boy of Australian cricket, the blond boy from Sydney's western suburbs who scored a century on his debuts both home and away, has emerged as the ugly face of this team. He snicked a catch to slip first ball and didn't walk, not a crime in itself, but then claimed a dubious catch at slip off Sourav Ganguly and followed it up with the "f*** off" that we all hoped had disappeared with the young and angry Glenn McGrath. It should come as no surprise that Clarke was unofficially taken under Shane Warne's wing when he first made the team, cause enough for concern. He is now carrying himself as if he had the record of Warne, rather than the relatively embryonic career he owns. He could become great, or just grate.
