Ponting defends his players

Ricky Ponting wants his team to be "ultra-competitive" and said "nothing over the top" occurred to spark Lou Vincent's comments about Australia's ego-driven behaviour. Vincent complained the home players thought they were "bigger than the game" and were always talking, but Ponting said the chatter was an element of international competition.

"Lou is a player who is always yapping up a bit and chirping when he is out on the field, trying to get an advantage for his team, and I think that's just part of the game at the highest level," Ponting said in The Australian. "There was nothing over the top that went on the other night, and what he is saying merely highlights how tough our two sides go at it out in the middle.

"I want the guys in my team to be ultra-competitive. That's what it is to play cricket for Australia, and I'm sure New Zealand are exactly the same."

The Australians have taken Vincent's claim that they "hunt like a pack of dogs" as a compliment. Matthew Hayden said he was proud of the way the players stuck together and Brett Lee said it was what the team tried to do.

"One of the reasons we have played really well recently is that we have had a never-say-die attitude, and sometimes other teams see that as a bit of ego," Lee said in the Courier-Mail. "That is definitely not the case.

"People talk about our sledging, and we play really tough cricket. We are renowned for that, but we know there is a line in the sand. We are well aware of the boundaries."

Lee said things on the field were not spoken "in a bad way". "There are no racial things said, and nothing that represents a bad image for kids," he told the paper. "Of course there are mind games. There is always going to be chat out there."

Stuart Clark, who is a quieter member of the squad, said he was surprised Vincent was listening to the Australians. "He should be thinking about what he has to do," Clark said in the Sydney Morning Herald. "I don't think we're nasty or unfriendly, but I do think that the Australian cricket team hates losing as much or more than anyone, and I don't see how that's a bad thing."

John Buchanan did not feel there was a problem with his team's behaviour. "We play the game hard, there is no doubt about that," he said in The Australian. "But we play it fair and within the spirit of the game."