KEY POINTS:
In the volatile days after equalling the world record for 16 consecutive test wins, Ricky Ponting discovered the heat of public office in a new Australia. Instead of universal praise for his leadership, Ponting and his team were condemned for their boorish, arrogant and disrespectful behaviour.
The country's
most successful captain - his winning record of 79 per cent is better than Steve Waugh's 72 per cent - is also its most unpopular and has endured politician-style calls for his sacking.
Ponting's position is generally accepted as the second-most coveted in Australia but, like John Howard, the prime minister dumped in November, he is finding the tide of opinion can change quicker than an umpire's mind. A week can also be a long time in cricket.
Not even Peter Roebuck, who wrote a stinging front-page story for the Sydney Morning Herald saying Ponting should be dropped as leader, can believe deep down that Ponting must stand down, but there is a growing consensus he needs to show more control.
A poll on the SMH website on Wednesday showed 61 per cent voted for Ponting's removal and an earlier one conducted by the Daily Telegraph tabloid found 82 per cent believed Ponting was not a good ambassador for cricket. Another 79 per cent said the team didn't play in the true spirit of cricket, suggesting the average Australian has tired of the antics.
However, on Baggy Green, a specialist cricket website, 79 per cent supported the side's attitude.
Emails encouraging Indian supporters to vote have been circulating on the internet, but even taking into account any overseas influence, the results are striking. Australia seems ready to stop believing winning is everything.
The sporting greats John Bertrand, Herb Elliott and Robert de Castella were so upset, they want to use their power as Sport Australia Hall of Fame members to meet Cricket Australia to readjust the squad's over-bearing behaviour.
"Sport is only sport," Bertrand, the chairman of the group, said. "It's not war. Their desire to win at all costs is beginning to blur their moral compass."
Australia started the second test against India on a New Year high and ended it with Anil Kumble, whose players were far from saints, saying "only one team played with the spirit of the game".
The sentence sounds gentle, especially compared to the "monkey" and "bastard" comments that earned Harbhajan Singh and Brad Hogg appointments with the match referee, but it is the worst insult for any self-respecting cricketer.
Ponting maintained the game had been played in the right manner and his team had done nothing wrong.
On the final day alone Rahul Dravid suffered from a horrible decision as the fielders preyed on the flagging umpires, a pre-series catching agreement was broken by Australia and the teams lost each other's trust.
After the Australians achieved the 122-run win with Michael Clarke's three wickets in an over, they celebrated so ungraciously that Kumble, dawdling in disappointment as the not out batsman, reached the boundary without shaking the hand of any Australian.
Live radio and television interviews were interrupted by Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, who criticised commentators for calling the pre-lunch declaration conservative, before Ponting ridiculed an Indian journalist who asked a valid question about his fielding ethics.
"If you're actually questioning my integrity in the game," Ponting said, "then you shouldn't be standing there."
Less than half an hour later Kumble did the same. "I've played my cricket very sincerely and honestly," Kumble said. "That's the approach my team takes, and we expect that from Australia as well."
Umpiring errors littered the match from the first day - estimates ranged from 8-4 to 8-2 in favour of Australia - and the heat turned from simmering to boiling when Harbhajan was reported for allegedly calling Andrew Symonds a "monkey".
Despite the fact that neither the umpires nor Sachin Tendulkar, the only other Indian in range, heard the word, Harbhajan was banned for three tests on the evidence of five Australian fielders.
The post-match hearing lasted more than five hours and match referee Mike Procter's decision further enraged the Indians. The entire tour was in doubt until cool heads prevailed and the Indian board gave the team permission to stay in Australia.
In the end the casualties were Bucknor, who was stood down for this week's third test in Perth starting Wednesday, and the reputations of both teams.
Beneath the surface of Mark Taylor and Waugh's teams there were undercurrents of complaint about the on-field behaviour and the issue reached its previous peak when Glenn McGrath threatened to rip out Ramnaresh Sarwan's throat during the 2003 West Indies tour.
The feedback was so bad at the time that a Cricket Australia receptionist was asked to deliver a talk to the players, telling them how she was brought to tears by the public's views.
Waugh, a leader able to gauge the mood of the masses, moved quickly and the players developed the Spirit of Cricket document, a set of guidelines more strict than the ICC code. They could play hard and fair, but it would mean an end to the "Ugly Australians".
What was once a strategy to improve behaviour has become a crutch whenever the team is criticised for issues not deemed important enough for official charges.
While India was considering cancelling the tour, staying in their Sydney hotel rather than catching the bus to Canberra for a warm-up game, Ponting was oblivious to the furore that had erupted over race, umpiring, sportsmanship, catching and walking issues.
In a denial that would impress Bill Clinton, Shane Warne and It Wasn't Me singer Shaggy, Ponting said there were no problems between the teams. He said he was happy to chat to India's captain to improve relations "if Anil thinks that is necessary".
"But I'd be really surprised if he thought it was. I don't think there is much, if any, animosity between the players on both teams."
Howard failed to follow the interests of the nation and suffered badly at the polls. Ponting, one of the game's all-time great batsmen, is not in danger of losing his leadership seat, but he and his team must work hard to win back thousands of disenchanted fans.
Peter English is the Australasian editor of www.cricinfo.com and has been covering the fractious tour from the beginning.
