On-field aggression unavoidable: Adams

West Indies' cricket captain Jimmy Adams said in Adelaide on Tuesday it was inevitable there would be aggression on the cricket field when competitive individuals and teams were playing for high stakes.

"It's all about two very competitive teams -- that's the nature of what we do," said Adams, commenting on two incidents in the third cricket Test which Australia won by five wickets.

Australia's Stuart MacGill and West Indies' 12th man Ramnaresh Sarwan collided Sunday just off the field, and the following day there was an on-field flare-up following a controversial umpiring decision favouring young opening batsman Daren Ganga.

"The MacGill incident has been dealt with, and satisfactorily for both teams," Adams said.

"You are talking about 22 highly competitive individuals and two very competitive teams, with a lot at stake. You are going to get that bit of aggression here and there, but that is part and parcel of international sport."

The MacGill-Sarwan collision occurred in the players' race, just off the field, after MacGill had been given out when the ball flew from his helmet to West Indies' wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.

Both players were interviewed by International Cricket Council match referee Alan Smith, of England, who issued a warning to MacGill not to repeat his action, but did not impose a penalty. MacGill apologised to Sarwan, who accepted the apology.

In the second incident, Australian players were furious when Ganga was given not out, despite having apparently edged a ball to Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.

Tempers flared when Ganga refused to "walk" and then his batting partner, Brian Lara, walked down the wicket to talk to the youngster, holding up play for longer than the Australians considered reasonable. Immediately after, Australian vice-captain Ricky Ponting hurled in the ball from the outfield to Gilchrist, narrowly missing Ganga. No action was taken against Ponting.

Adams admitted there were times when the West Indies looked at younger players and considered whether they could unsettle them a bit.

"That's par for the course, really," he said. "It runs right across the board."

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Mail Cricket Editor