Australian pace spearhead Brett Lee feels that the furore over the Sydney Test was a result of "contentious umpiring" and the world champions’ much-criticised behaviour was in no way responsible for the controversy. Lee emphasised that the nail-biting finish to the Test added to the bitterness that was also attributed to the aggressive attitude of the Australian players to "win at all costs".
"While I don’t feel we conducted ourselves poorly, the close match coupled with a few contentious umpiring decisions magnified the issue and snowballed into a crisis." Lee said.