Lloyd threatens to report Australians

Clive Lloyd, the West Indies manager, has finally lost patience with Australia's on-field antics and is considering reporting them to the International Cricket Council for "sledging" his young, opening batsman Robert Samuels during the final Test in Perth.

Lloyd is unhappy with the attitude of the Australian captain, Mark Taylor, who defended the verbal abuse handed out to Samuels during his long and patient first innings of 76.

"I am quite dissatisfied with what the captain said on this issue," Lloyd said before his team left Perth following their 3-2 series defeat by Australia.

Taylor admitted that some verbal barbs had been aimed at Samuels during his innings, which played a major role in the tourists' three-day victory at the WACA Ground. Brian Lara, who partnered Samuels to a stand of 208, accused the Australians of "all-day sledging", but Taylor was unapologetic.

"I think he handled it very well and he'll be a better player for it," Taylor said.

Lloyd made it clear he did not find Taylor's comments appropriate. "Taylor is a guy I respect, but I was not happy with his attitude," he said. "We had a young player there trying his best. His place was in jeopardy and he was fighting against the odds and did extremely well."

During the Test, relations between the sides deteriorated to such a level that on the last day the umpires called the captains together for a peace conference on the pitch.