Australia play down abuse worries

Australia's top cricket official says racial abuse will not be an issue during the Ashes series.

But James Sutherland risked courting further controversy when he suggested abuse directed at Monty Panesar earlier this week was not racist.

Sutherland played down abuse directed at Panesar

An England team spokesman confirmed a Sydney crowd member called Sikh spinner Panesar a "stupid Indian" on Sunday.

When questioned about the incident, Sutherland said: "I don't think there is too much racist about that."

But he added: "Clearly it is going to be something that is going to be monitored very closely and it will be all in keeping with the policy of anti-racism at all international matches."

In Australia, cricket is followed with a passion and I'm sure cricket will be supported in the right way.

After several incidents in Australia last year, involving players from South Africa and Sri Lanka, there are new tough guidelines in place to tackle racial abuse.

Fans face lifetime bans if found guilty while nations failing to issue such bans could be barred from staging international matches at the venue where the incident occurred.

In formulating its new zero-tolerance, Cricket Australia consulted the country's Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission.

The commission ruled that the word "pom" was permissible to describe English people but possibly racist and humiliating when uttered in conjunction with other coarse language.

Asked about the Sydney incident on Thursday, Panesar told the BBC: "I guess that's just the minority saying a few things.

"In Australia, cricket is followed with a passion and I'm sure cricket will be supported in the right way.

"That's something I don't really focus on."