South African spinner Imran Tahir target of racist sledging from crowd in Canberra Abused: South African bowler Imran Tahir. While Australian cricket fans should not be short of ammunition to take the mickey out of Imran Tahir, the South African spinner was instead the victim of racially insensitive remarks in Canberra on Wednesday. The Pakistan-born leggie, who is a Muslim, did well to restrain his anger after being goaded about stroking his beard by a small group of fans at Manuka Oval while fielding on the third-man boundary. Moments later The Tonk heard another fan from the same group yell out: "Why don't you go stroke your pet camel?" An irate Tahir turned and glared at the direction of the fan but did not file an official complaint with the umpires. Capping off a forgettable day for Tahir. His team lost and he suffered a knee strain, which has placed him in doubt for the fourth one-day international in Melbourne on Friday. Tahir is best known in Australia for taking 0-260 In the Adelaide Test two years ago, the most runs conceded by a bowler in a Test without taking a wicket. Australian War Memorial visit moves ODI cricketers If Darren Lehmann's men played like a team inspired in Canberra then perhaps it has something to do with their visit to the Australian War Memorial on Tuesday. Several members of Australia's one-day squad were moved to tears while being taken on a private tour by AWM director Brendan Nelson, a former minister in the John Howard cabinet and an ex-federal opposition leader. While touched by the experiences of widows and families of soldiers serving in Afghanistan, the team was "riveted" when listening to the account by an SAS fighter present at the battle in which Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith earned his Victoria Cross. Corporal Roberts-Smith was given the military's highest award after exposing himself to Taliban machinegun fire to draw attention from his patrol during a firefight in 2010. "There were some pretty amazed looks on people's faces about what combat is, what it means and the people that are doing it," AWM assistant director Tim Sullivan said. To have a serving soldier there to relay those experiences had a profound impact. The players were also told how one group of soldiers' cricket game had the Taliban forces monitoring them bemused. "Their translators were telling them how confused they were by what these crazy Australians were doing playing cricket in the middle of a potential combat area," Sullivan said. The team earned high praise from Nelson for their respect and level of engagement during the tour. "If they play cricket the way they conducted themselves here they're a great asset to a nation that should be very proud of them," Nelson told The Tonk. Channel Nine wants third umpire to speak up There are still two games left to go but Channel Nine has given the thumbs up to the ICC's initiative of wiring the third umpire for sound. As part of a trial before the World Cup, communications between the two on-field officials and the video umpire for the decision review system are being broadcast. The only issue has been the amount of "dead air," or silence, during the telecast. "While it's a trial for them, we're on air, it's not a trial for us - it's something they have to be aware of," Channel Nine executive producer of cricket Brad McNamara said. The third umpire needs to keep talking and communicating. Our feedback has been positive, the viewers have liked it, it's worked fairly well, from our point of view. With all trials there's been a few little things we've discovered that needs tinkering with but I think it's got genuine opportunities to become part of cricket broadcasts in the future. David "Bumble" Lloyd to take the mike There's good news for fans of English commentator David Lloyd. "Bumble," as he is affectionately known, will be a guest commentator on Nine during the tri-series one-day tournament in January. Greg Matthews' warning to ABC The Abbott government's ministers are not the only people with their sights set on the ABC - so, too, does former Test spinner Greg Matthews. Ever the eccentric, "Mo" fired a warning to the public broadcaster as he walked past the ABC's long-serving cricket commentator Jim Maxwell and former Test paceman Geoff Lawson before the ODI in Canberra. "We're going to kick your ares this summer," chirped Matthews, who is a part of Fairfax Radio Network's commentary team.