Australians hold Perth meeting on spirit of cricket

The Australian team held a round-table discussion on the spirit of cricket on Sunday night, the first such meeting after the ill-tempered Sydney Test against India.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that leadership consultant Ray McLean, a former officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, moderated the session. Tim Nielsen, the coach, and the manager Steve Bernard attended along with the Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and operations manager Michael Brown.

The focus was on the messages and criticism directed at the team after the Sydney Test, with all involved invited to trace their feelings on the match and the Spirit of Cricket pledge that was devised during Steve Waugh's captaincy in 2003.

"I think it will be a general chat about what we live by, what we stand for, the spirit of cricket that the Australian cricketers sat down and wrote down," Michael Clarke said before the meeting. "I think it will be a general reminder of what we do to be the best team in the world and the things we can continue to improve on. It's probably why Australia have been so successful, because we never say we can't improve."

The session came a day before the meeting between opposing captains Ricky Ponting and Anil Kumble, convened by Ranjan Madugalle, the ICC's chief match referee, who has been appointed to mediate. Brad Hogg, the left-arm wrist spinner, is due to attend a hearing on Friday concerning offensive remarks made to Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.