Melbourne: Parents of Australian captain Ricky Ponting are feeling the heat in a ugly fallout from the controversial Sydney test as they have reportedly received abusive phone calls. Ponting said his parents were forced to change to a new phone number following the anonymous calls in which he was criticised.

"There were a few people who rang in the past few days having a dig," Ponting told News Ltd newspapers. "It was disappointing for them(parents) to have to go through them," he said. Ponting and the Australian team are under fire even within the country for their role in the Sydney test which was marred by controversies.

Ponting rejected claims he and his side were arrogant but said there were elements of his side's performance in the second test that "in hindsight you might do a little differently." The Captain said he stood at the crease for too long after being given out LBW in the first innings and said some of his team-mates may have mistakenly forgotten to shake Indian captain Anil Kumble's hand following the Aussie victory. "I don't think anyone wants the way Australia plays cricket to change," he said.

"Everyone likes to see a tough,uncompromising brand of cricket. But, if there are areas in our game to improve on then obviously we need to address that," Ponting added.

Source : PTI