Cricket: Ponting furore latest scandal to hit Aussies

SYDNEY - Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting's fall from grace following his admission of an alcohol problem is just the latest in a line of scandals which have rocked the sport here in the past year.

Ponting was regarded by many - including current Australian test captain Mark Taylor - as a potential successor for Taylor.

On Monday Ponting will face an Australian Cricket Board code of conduct hearing in Melbourne.

Yesterday, instead of joining his Australian team-mates in a rare appearance in his home state of Tasmania for the one-day game against Sri Lanka, Ponting was seeking professional help for an alcohol problem which has reportedly caused him problems three times in the past two years.

In 1997, on the tour of England he was fined and overlooked for selection after missing a team bus to training following a drinking session, The Australian newspaper said yesterday.

On last year's tour to India, he was said to have been involved in a nightclub brawl and was accused of sexually harassing a female journalist at the club.

Ponting has consistently denied the allegations.

The latest incident came at dawn on Monday, when Ponting was knocked unconscious at a Sydney nightspot.

Ponting, nicknamed Punter for his keen interest in and ownership of greyhounds, admitted on Wednesday he had a problem with binge drinking. The confession briefly halted the 24-year-old's career when he was temporarily suspended by the ACB.

It is one of many black eyes for Australian cricket and leaves the sport at its lowest ebb in decades.

Last season's controversies - when New Zealand's tour here was dogged by talk of players going on strike over pay claims and fans were divided over the decision to split the Australian captaincy between the test and one-day arenas - now seem relatively harmless in the light of subsequent shocks.

Since then, leading umpire Steve Randell has been charged with 26 counts of sexual assault against young boys and girls dating back to 1979.

The 42-year-old school teacher, like Ponting a Tasmanian, was stood down from umpiring after adjudicating in 36 tests. He has pleaded not guilty to the 26 charges and faces a committal hearing in the Hobart Magistrates Court.

Earlier this month, fellow-Australian umpire Darrell Hair was charged with breaching the International Cricket Council's code of conduct for comments he made about Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan.

Hair consistently called Muralitharan for throwing when Sri Lanka visited Australia in 1995-96. In his recently published book Hair described the off-spinner's action as "diabolical" and said that he would again call him for throwing this summer if the action had not changed.

Hair was not allocated any Sri Lankan games in the current series involving Australia and England.

The most damaging scandal came last month when it was revealed that Australian stars Shane Warne and Mark Waugh had accepted money from an Indian bookmaker to provide information about weather, pitch conditions, team selection and morale during a tour of Sri Lanka four years ago.

Despite international calls for the disgraced pair to be suspended, the ACB resolutely said the matter had been dealt with when both players were heavily - and secretly - fined.

For Australian fans disgruntled with the game, the players and officials, the last straw may be the decision this week for Sydney Cricket Ground authorities to ban the "Mexican wave" at the ground. - NZPA

Pictured: Ricky Ponting