Melbourne, Jan 11 : The International Cricket Council's (ICC) "peacemaker", Sri Lankan match referee Ranjan Madugalle, has expressed his confidence in saving the Australia-India Test series that got severely damaged by the "Bollyline saga."

Madugalle, who is scheduled to arrive in Perth on Saturday, said that his previous conversations with Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and his Indian counterpart Anil Kumble had led him to believe that both were reasonable men, and they are well capable of reaching an amicable arrangement.

"Absolutely, because each one realises that cricket is everyone's passion, and they (both teams) will stretch that little bit extra to uphold the spirit of the game," smh.com.au quoted him, as saying.

The ICC has called in Madugalle to act as a peacemaker between warring camps India and Australia.

"I have an open briefing to get things back on track. I will try and go about things quietly and do as much as I can without making too much noise about it. We'll see at the end of the five days if it has worked, but I am optimistic that everyone wants to do the right thing by the game," Madugalle added.

Madugalle is confident that Ponting and Kumble will resolve their differences.

Stressing his confidence to resolve the differences, Madugalle said: "They are two captains with a great amount of experience, and they would know that the game is bigger than everything.

"I do believe they will want to do everything they can to bring the attention back to the game," he emphasised.

He further said that it was important that "we work through this, and I am sure they understand that."

Harbhajan Singh's appeal and Brad Hogg's hearing will be held in Perth next week, and the results of both might have an impact in determining the spirit in which the third test at Perth will be played.

ANI