KEY POINTS:
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming has lifted the lid on the resentment that continues to simmer within his side over the first-test run-out of Muttiah Muralitharan.
In a startling attack on the eve of the second test at the Basin Reserve, Fleming lashed out at the tourists' accusations
of unsportsmanlike behaviour and promised an even more intense and aggressive approach from his team over the next five days.
A clearly piqued Fleming said he was sick of the Sri Lankans trying to divert attention away from Muralitharan's recklessness and Kumar Sangakkara's selfishness, by making spurious claims about his side's sportsmanship.
Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene wasted no time in returning serve yesterday, suggesting Fleming wasn't able to drag himself away from the controversial run-out because it was playing on his mind.
Asked at the pre-test press conference whether he was ready to consign the incident to the history books, Fleming said it wasn't all over yet as the Sri Lankans' comments had been inflammatory and impossible to ignore.
"We took a lot of interest in the Sri Lankan comments and I don't think we're in position to move on yet; they're a motivating factor for us now, some of those statements," he said.
"We'll certainly be looking to be as intense and aggressive as we can - not verbally, but in our actions - and maybe that will reflect some of the anger that's been created."
Fleming questioned Sangakkara's right to criticise, suggesting the left-hander had been self-centred when he broke with his usual pattern to take a single off the first ball of the over in question, in order to bring up his century. "It was a selfish act that got them into that situation in the first-place; he was putting himself ahead of the team - and our guys were very interested in that."
Fleming was also angry that NZ's five-wicket win at Christchurch had been largely overshadowed by the run-out, and said his teammates were determined to demonstrate their irritation by winning the series 2-0.
"Certainly we'll be very aggressive in our approach. And if that situation comes up again, end of story - we'll do it again.
"It was always their mistake, and they tried to cover it up by taking the moral high ground.
"We want to get back into the newspaper headlines as 2-nil winners. We're steeled up to do that."
For his part, Jayawardene refused to retreat from his initial view that the run-out wasn't in keeping with the spirit of the game, and suggested yesterday that the more that Fleming protested his innocence, the more desperate he sounded.