 Harbhajan, Sreesanth sledged S. Africans in Test series: Arthur
29th Apr 2008 23:01 IST
Agencies
The recent slap-gate featuring Harbhajan Singh and S Sreesanth does not surprise South African coach Mickey Arthur who alleged both the players abused the Proteas during their Test series against India earlier this year.
According to him, Harbhajan had apologise to South African batsman Ashwell Prince for abusing him in the third and final Test in Kanpur, while Sreesanth sledged AB de Villiers.
"There was an incident in Kanpur. There was a hearing by the match referee (Roshan Mahanama) during which Harbhajan apologised to Prince," Arthur told Cricinfo.
"It was settled and we were happy with the apology. I am not 100 per cent sure what was said. But Ashwell felt very strongly about it at that time and that's why we took it up," the coach said.
Arthur said Sreesanth was no saint either during the three-Test series.
"Sreesanth was just Sreesanth. Perhaps our players lost a lot of respect for him on the tour. He constantly abused AB de Villiers and it was very personal. But considering the general spirit in which the series was played, we didn't feel strongly enough to complain," he said.
Arthur said the behaviour of the duo "was not great" but the South African team management still did not lodge an official complaint.
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