Australian officials have laughed off suggestions that the team is under investigation by the ICC for slow batting against Zimbabwe.Australia won the match easily but openers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin struggled to put runs on the board during the first 15 overs in the Group A game at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad.The pair put on 28 runs in 11 overs and 53 in the first 15 when two of the three power-plays were used."The slow rate of scoring in the first two overs was scrutinised by the ICC anti-corruption and security unit," Indianexpress.com website said in a report from the national wire service, Press Trust of India."Sources aware of developments said the ICC ACSU (Anti-Corruption Security Unit) had carried out a quiet review of the match after questions were raised over the slow start taken by Watson and Haddin.""With the spectre of spot-fixing now looming over international cricket following the bans on three Pakistani players for spot-fixing last year on the England tour, sources said the ICC ACSU was keeping a vigilant eye on all matches in the World Cup and the slow start by the Australian openers caught their attention."Australia coach Tim Nielsen said after the Zimbabwe match he saw nothing wrong in the openers' slow approach."I thought they played well in game one. Everyone had this perception that they went slowly. But if Zimbabwe were going to be competitive against us, they needed to take early wickets with their spinners. We're playing the way we think is the right way to play," Nielsen said.On Tuesday, Haddin and team manager Steve Bernard described the claims as 'ludicrous'."It's quite a laughable story. It's a joke," Haddin told reporters during a net session at the SSC in Colombo."We just got off the mark a bit slowly.""It's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard in my life … that a team could be none for five after two overs and that's suspicious?" Bernard said."I think it's the silliest thing I've heard this week, and I've heard a lot of silly things since I've been here.""At the start of any campaign, on a fresh track that the guys weren't used to, it took a bit of time (to adjust), but 260-odd was a pretty good score."
