Vettori clears up subtext of his text

Daniel Vettori has confirmed his text message to Brad Haddin did not contain an apology for his comments on Haddin's involvement in the dismissal of Neil Broom on Sunday. Broom was given out bowled but replays suggested Haddin's gloves had broken the stumps and a war of words over Haddin's integrity erupted after the match.

In the lead-up to Friday's second ODI in Melbourne, Vettori said his message to Haddin was simply a statement of how his comments were intended, rather than an apology for how they were interpreted. However, he said the New Zealanders wanted to put the matter behind them and move on as they aim to build on their 1-0 series lead.

"I sent a text to Brad saying whilst we agree to disagree on the situation, there was no inference of anything malicious on my part," Vettori said. "I said there was no inference of that [cheating] from the team or myself.

"Both teams will disagree on the situation and move on. You can't always be expected to be on the right page with things. Everyone has their own opinion, whatever your opinion is, doesn't mean it's right or doesn't mean it's wrong."

Australia's stand-in captain Michael Clarke, who did see the text message sent to Haddin, backed Vettori's explanation. He said all the Australian players got on well with Vettori and the confusion over the incident would not change that.

"I don't know if it said 'sorry', put it that way," Clarke said of the message. "'I don't think you're a cheat' - I do remember reading that - 'and mate, let's get on with it'." Despite all the attention on Haddin over the past week and questions over whether he knew he had broken the stumps, Clarke said Haddin had retained his focus impressively.

"He's fine," Clarke said. "Little things like that don't bother him too much. I think the main thing was to make sure Brad and Dan were fine, which they've done, and he's looking forward to playing a big role in the next few one-dayers for us."