IANS

Sydney, Jun 26: Australian cricket fans have asked Ricky Ponting's team not to sledge, swear, cheat and spit during the Ashes series starting next month in England.

Cricket Australia (CA) sent the results of a survey conducted among the fans to all the contracted players. The cricketers have to follow the guidelines sent by CA during the Ashes against England that starts with the first Test in Cardiff, July 8.

Australian players' on-field behaviour came under heavy criticism during the Sydney Test against India in 2008 when Andrew Symonds alleged that he was racially abused by Harbahjan Singh. Ponting's on-field behaviour also divided the Australian fans.

The survey found that the Australian side's acceptability of their behaviour dropped to 8.17 from last year's 8.47 out of 10.

The cricketers' individual score on their behaviour was between 5.67 and 8.42 out of 10, way below some of the top Australian sportspersons like golfer Geoff Ogilvy (8.85) and swimmer Grant Hackett (8.91).

The survey found that 81 percent of Australian cricketers were considered good role models, a slight dip from last year's 82 percent.