Australia's one-day captain Ricky Ponting admitted today that the Australians would continue trying to unsettle opponents with unrelenting sledging. However, Ponting referred to the verbal assaults as "friendly banter". "I don't mind a bit of the friendly banter going on," he said, "but I've said right from the start that I don't like, and won't like, any personal barrages towards anyone."

The Aussies were accused last week of being "serial sledgers" by some South African players. Newcomer Graeme Smith described their verbal assaults in the February-March Test series as "below the belt".

Smith singled out opener Matthew Hayden as the worst culprit, although he named Ponting, star spinner Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, Justin Langer and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist as just as foul-mouthed.

But Ponting rejects the allegations. "The umpires and the match referees in that series didn't think we stepped over the line, so that is why it is so shocking to actually read about some of the things that were supposedly said.

"We did say a few things in the one-dayers, but that was more light-hearted and playing on the fact that he wasn't hitting the ball that well. It was to do with how many edges he was getting and how lucky he was but - when I was captain anyway - there was never any personal stuff thrown against him."

Ponting said that the 21-year-old Smith made his fair share of comments to the Australians, even though he was making his international debut against the world champions in both Test and one-day cricket.

"He had a fair bit to say and you can accept that," said Ponting. "We said a few things to him, and he was a young bloke out there trying to make his stamp on international cricket.

"If he's out there having a fair-dinkum crack, then that's what we as Australians expect him to do. But a young guy coming in to Test cricket has got to expect a bit of that. We thought that he was going to be one of the weak links in the side, and we thought if we could get into his mind a bit it would help us out.

"The way he's coming out now, it probably did do that."

Ponting said Australia's players were still waiting to hear from their Board about the proposed tour of strife-torn Pakistan in late August. That tour looks more and more unlikely, after Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer recently advised his countrymen to evacuate the subcontinent.

But next week Australia and Pakistan play the first game of a three-match one-day series in Melbourne's Colonial Stadium.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd