Khan's assessment of Haddin will draw no shortage of allies. The gloveman put down apparently simply catches in Melbourne and Sydney, and Khan's use of the glass-houses argument in response to the attack was not without justification. The 33-year-old fast bowler went further after taking Haddin's bait, suggesting the wicketkeeper had been assigned as Australia's designated provocateur in the lead-up to the Perth Test. ''It looks like Haddin is appointed for that. I think he's doing all the talk, so he's definitely playing his role,'' Khan said. That theory was knocked quickly on the head by Haddin's teammate Peter Siddle, who laughed off the suggestion the Australian team would appoint a player as, for example, head of niggle. ''There's no appointment,'' Siddle said. ''These things come out, and for Zaheer to say [Haddin] has got to concentrate on his keeping - I wouldn't like to see how good tips he could give him on keeping. I don't think it's his place to say that either. It's just part of the game. Zaheer is going OK at the moment and he likes to say those things.''

The premise of Haddin's remarks on Sydney radio, made hours before the Australian team's arrival in Perth on Monday, was that India have melted psychologically when kept in the field for a long period. The prima facie evidence would suggest he is right, although his timing left him open to potshots at his own form. India, at this point in the tour, do not appear a cohesive unit, with reported divisions within the team exacerbated by the fact they have been defeated with relative ease in two Tests in less than eight days. Siddle was more diplomatic. ''The pressure that we've been building as bowling partnerships and bowling units has obviously been working for us, and that's what's been putting the pressure on,'' Siddle said yesterday. ''Whether that's intimidation or just good team bowling … I think that's what Bradley was getting at. That's the pressure that we've been building with our bowling, and that's the way we're going to keep going throughout the rest of the series. ''I think we're all nice and friendly guys out on the field, we're all nice to the opposition and that's how we play our cricket. Brad is a very competitive cricketer but he does like to play it hard and fair.''

Haddin had also raised some eyebrows by claiming Siddle had devised a formula to unsettle Sachin Tendulkar, who has been unable to register his 100th international century in the first half of the series. Siddle dismissed Tendulkar twice at the MCG and agrees Australia have prospered by applying pressure on him. ''The times I have bowled to Sachin, I've probably stepped up for that occasion,'' he said. Loading ''I have bowled at my best in this series against him. It's just a matter of building the pressure. Whether it's against Sachin or against [Rahul] Dravid, any of their batters, if I can build the pressure and it happens from the other end, we're going to get the breakthrough. ''Whether we get his wicket straight away or we get wickets at the other end, that's what's building the pressure on him … we've got to be happy about how we've been attacking them as a team. It's working at the moment and hopefully in the next two Tests we can show that again.''