Cricket
Ponting against Pakistan ban
2010-09-08 11:32
Sydney - Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting on Wednesday urged the sport's leaders not to ban Pakistan's entire team over a damaging spot-fixing scandal.
Ponting said it would be unfair to punish the whole team over "spot-fixing" allegations which have already seen Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer suspended.
"I think that's going a bit too far, let's just start with the people we know about at the moment and make sure they're dealt with in the appropriate manner," Ponting told Fox Sports.
"I think to ban a whole team would probably be a bit unfair. The world game doesn't really need that, (and) can't really afford that to happen.
"I know the world game can't afford these sorts of scandals happening in the game either," Ponting added.
The claims came to light after Britain's News of the World tabloid allegedly caught Mazhar Majeed, a London-based businessman, organising no-balls to order during last month's Test against England at Lord's.
Ponting, whose team secured an unlikely victory over Pakistan in a Test in Sydney in January -- which has now also been called into question --said he had considered the possibility the players had been compromised.
"One thing we've learned from the anti-corruption guys over the years is once these guys have had their claws into you then there's no way to get away," he said. "So maybe they'd had their claws in before."
Australia leave for a tour of India next week.