Melbourne: Apparently unwilling to let bygones be bygones, Australian skipper Ricky Ponting today expressed unhappiness over Harbhajan Singh getting away with a "lesser sentence" and said Andrew Symonds feels "a little bit disappointed by the whole system".

Notwithstanding the verdict given by the ICC-appointed Appeals Commissioner that ended the dispute, he raked up the controversy over Harbhajan-Symonds standoff in Sydney Test that brought the two teams to a flashpoint. Blowing hot and cold, he said it was time to focus on the game. Against the backdrop of the Australian media flaying the Indian cricket establishment, Ponting today said that it was unfair to criticise his teammate Symonds, who New Zealand High Court Judge John Hansen had held him guilty of provoking the ugly spat with Harbhajan.

"I think any sort of character assasination on Andrew Symonds as a result of this will be completely unfair," he told a press conference here. He said "it's just that Andrew feels a little bit disappointed by the whole system over the last few weeks."

"I am not an expert on penalties. I kind of listen to what the judge has to say. However, some misinformation of information has not been passed on correctly. It looks like he got a lesser sentence than he should have got. But it's out of our hands now and nothing we can do now," he said when asked whether Harbhajan got away lightly.

Source : PTI