News: Ponting to impart lessons in conduct to Oz players

With the Australian players coming under the scanner for their on-field antics in the third and final Test match against West Indies in Napier, skipper Ricky Ponting has taken up the responsibility to talk things out with his teammates to prevent such incidents in future tours.

Some of the high-headed Aussie’s players were caught in some ugly incidents against the Windies players for which players from both sides were punished under the ICC’s code of conduct.

All-rounder Shane Watson was fined 15% of his match fees for his unruly celebration after dismissing opposition team skipper Chris Gayle in the second innings of the Test match. Before this, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson also suffered fines for their altercation with Windies bowler Suleimann Benn, who was handed a two One-day International suspension.

In the second Test at Adelaide, pacer Doug Bollinger showed his resentment towards the umpire review system by kicking the pitch in frustration but he was let off with an official reprimand.

The behaviour of the Australian players has been receiving rave criticism from across the globe and Ponting wants to make sure that things do not get ugly when Pakistan tours the country next week.

"I know all the guys are a bit embarrassed probably and know they've overstepped the mark. It's one of my responsibilities as the captain to make sure that guys aren't overstepping the mark. This week when we get down to Melbourne as a group together it will happen in our first team meeting, we will go over some of the events of this week," Ponting was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

Meanwhile, Watson has spoken aloud about the incident and claimed that Gayle had provoked him. "There was a bit of build up to it, so it's always nice to get Chris Gayle out, he's obviously one of the most devastating batsmen in the world at the moment. He definitely let me know that he was keen for me to come on to bowl leading up to that, so it was very nice to get him out first ball," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.

"That was the catalyst for me celebrating the way I did. I know there's a line and I was extremely happy to get him out, I normally don't celebrate to that extent when I get someone out. But when he baits me, talking about wanting me to come on to bowl to be able to take me down, it's always very nice to get the upper hand," Watson added.

However, Gayle expected this reaction from the burly Watson, saying that he is a passionate player. "Shane is that sort of person. I didn't expect anything better. That is typically Watson. He is a passionate person. He expresses himself and sometimes he may overdo it," he said.