February 03, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 24, 1429

MELBOURNE, Feb 2: Australian players plan to confront Cricket Australia (CA) with complaints about the lack of support offered to them during the Harbhajan Singh appeal process, media reported on Saturday.

The cricketers will present a letter to the body outlining their grievances after a racial charge against Harbhajan was downgraded to obscene language amid fears the Indian team would quit the Down Under tour, Fairfax papers reported.

The players will be represented by the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), which would allege they were pressured to accept the downgrading of the racism charge against Harbhajan, The Age said.

The players said Cricket Australia told them there would be financial repercussions if the Indians withdrew from the one-day series, including a possible lawsuit against the body by American sports broadcaster ESPN which bought the rights to televise the series in Asia, the newspaper said. India had threatened to pull out of the series ahead of last week’s appeal.

But on Tuesday, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan was cleared of racially abusing Australia’s Andrew Symonds by New Zealand judge John Hansen at an International Cricket Council appeal hearing.

Hansen downgraded the racism charge to one of using general obscene, offensive or insulting language, overturned a suspension and fined Harbhajan 50 percent of his match fee.—AFP