Australian batsman Michael Clarke said the way skipper Ricky Ponting handled the fall-out from the highly-charged second Test against India had reinforced his status as the team's leader.
Ponting has endured a slew of criticism after Australia's 122-run victory, which gave them a 2-0 series lead and ensured they kept the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, about his team's perceived poor sportsmanship and his own leadership.
Clarke, considered Australia's next captain, said the saga had given him a greater appreciation for leadership duties and how well Ponting had handled the situation.
"It's opened everyone's eyes to the amount of work that needs to go in on and off the field," he said here Sunday. "It's full credit to our captain, our leader, that he's stood tall and been the front man of Australian cricket and faced the media when he's had to," he added.
"One of the greatest things about Ricky is that very rarely has he run away from anything and that's why he's been a great leader for Australian cricket." Clarke said the week since the Sydney Test had been a shock for the Australians.
"It's been a hell of a ride," he said. "I don't think many players have experienced what we've all experienced over the last five days, so it's opened everybody's eyes to how big this game of cricket is."
He vowed the Australians would be a wiser team for the experience and expected the recent controversies to be addressed at a team meeting on Sunday. "I think it will be a general chat about what we live by, what we stand by ... and a general reminder of what we do to be the best team in the world and things we can continue to improve on," he said.
India has threatened to cancel the tour in the wake of Harbhajan Singh's three-match suspension. A date is not set for the appeal against Singh's suspension for racially abusing Andrew Symonds. Australian spinner Brad Hogg's code of conduct hearing for allegedly calling Indian captain Anil Kumble a "bastard" will be heard in Perth on Monday.
Meanwhile, Kumble and Ponting have said they want to clear the air with a meeting, which is expected to take place Monday. Clarke said he had spoken with Kumble on Saturday in a bid to reduce the tensions after the second Test. Despite the simmering ill will, Clarke said Sunday that he was "100 percent certain" the third Test in Perth would be played in the right spirit.
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