Healy says he did not suffer broken nose : Cricket

cricket

Ian Healy, the Australian wicketkeeper, did not have his nose broken in an incident outside his Perth hotel on Wednesday morning. The incident occurred outside the Hyatt Regency hotel, where the Australian team were celebrating after defeating England in the final Test on Tuesday to complete a 3-1 series win.

In earlier accounts of the incident, hotel staff had said that the man who attacked Healy was a member of the so-called "Barmy Army'' - a group of English supporters who followed their side during the Ashes series. "We have never said the young men belonged to that group. We are saying they were English, but we don't know whether they are locals or English people travelling with the team," a spokesman for the hotel said.

Police said no official complaint had been received about the incident. "My understanding is that Healy received some medical attention, but didn't want to follow the matter up," Acting Sergeant Jerry Haskins said.

Healy said: "I had 10 metres to walk from a taxi to the hotel door when these two started. There was an incident and it's been handled through the proper channels. The police were informed, they have looked into it and that's where I'd like to leave it."

Healy said that his nose was not broken, and warned fellow high-profile sportsmen to ignore taunts from opposition fans.

"You've just got to ignore it and walk away rather than try to win over them like I did,'' he said.