Cricket Cricket

This follows Mitchell Johnson’s headbutt of Kiwi batsman Scott Styris during a recent ODI. Styris was wearing a helmet at the time and Johnson was not. Did this prompt Reid’s remark?“Generally the Australian team looks good but there are a handful of idiots who need to be reined in. Do your work with the bat and the ball, not your mouth. It’s not necessary,” said Reid, also a former ICC match referee, known for his toughness.Reid, who captained a New Zealand touring team to South Africa in the early sixties, said that in his experience the Aussies were also the worst sledgers.“I’d consider the Chappell brothers (Ian and Greg) to be its architects back in the 1970s. In my time as a referee, I dealt with barging by Glenn McGrath, bowlers standing in the way of a runner — like Johnson did to Styris — and Curtly Ambrose knocking the stumps out of the ground.”Reid said the match referee in the Johnson incident should have come down harder on the culprit. Ranjan Madugalle slapped both players with fines for the dust-up.Former Kiwi great Mark Greatbatch, recalling the sledging of his playing days, said that Merv Hughes once spat at him. Now Greatbatch is the Kiwi coach and Hughes an Australian selector. The met at the teams’ hotel this week (both sides are sharing digs).“The last time I played against Australia, Merv Hughes spat on me,” Greatbatch said, grinning. “But we had a beer at the end of the day.”