Sydney, Mar 1 : Former Aussie Test captain Mark Taylor has said that Matthew Hayden was lucky to have escaped with a reprimand for calling India's Harbhajan Singh an "obnoxious little weed".

For making the detrimental public comment against the Indian spinner, Hayden could have been banned or fined up to 5750 dollars.

"I really hope he can put this behind him, because I think the other night, to be totally honest, he got away lightly," The Australian quoted Taylor as saying about Hayden's code of conduct hearing following his remarks on Bhajji.

He added: "Matthew Hayden broke his own rules, he broke the spirit of cricket which the Australian players live by and love. He broke those laws, at the end of the day he got a rap over the knuckles, I think he should accept it and get on and play some cricket."

Taylor, a Cricket Australia member who has been tipped as a future CA Chairman, also said that Hayden and Andrew Symonds had been distracted by their ongoing spat with Harbhajan.

ANI