Following the 90-minute talk show on a private television channel, which also featured Australians Jeff Thomson and David Hookes, there has been a spate of hate mail to newspapers telling off ``arrogant'' and ``boorish'' foreigners.

Controversial: The main target is Greig who said on the show that his choice of people to head the administration would be Thilanga Sumathipala (whose election to the cricket Board this year was controversial and is now the subject of a court battle) or Upali Dharmadasa, the Board president from 1996 to 1998.

He had no good words for the interim committee that now runs Sri Lankan cricket, and which -- in popular perception -- has done a tremendous job to give the game a shot in the arm after the side's World Cup debacle earlier this year.

Instead, Greig ran down the very idea of interim committees which he said were ineffective, as had been proved in Pakistan.

Greig, more forthcoming than Thomson or Hookes during the programme, also criticised the Sri Lankan selectors for dropping senior players Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva from the one-day team in the recent triangular against India and Australia.

`Vested interests': Before the programme, Greig was ``our man'' to Sri Lankans because he often openly supported their side. But the programme has set off insinuations about his ``vested interests''.

One letter-writer warned Greig from ``trifling with (the) eligibility'' of the interim committee ``represented by men of the highest integrity and ability'', to administer the game.

``In a relatively short term since they assumed office, Sri Lanka cricket has taken a positive turn, and this has been lauded by those genuinely interested in the welfare of the game,'' he wrote.

`Stick to commentary': The letter writer said Greig would be well advised to ``confine yourself to commenting on the game, which you do more than competently, and leave the internal affairs of Sri Lanka cricket to those legitimately appointed to administer it. If not, it may not be long before the ICC is compelled to draft a code of conduct for commentators as well.''

Another blasted Greig for his ``sponsorship of `causes' backed by Sumathipala and Ranatunga''.

Well-known cricket writer Mahinda Wijesinghe asked if ``from now on'' Greig's credibility would hold when he took over the commentary box at matches.

Some of the ire was also directed at those behind the programme. One letter questioned if Sri Lankan commentators could ``manoeuvre'' invitations for themselves to appear on Australian TV to advise the Australian Cricket Board how to manage its affairs.

It concluded that would not happen because ``Australians are not stupid, they do not have a stooge to ask foreigners loaded questions calculated to embarrass their own officials''.

Members of the interim committee have not reacted officially to Greig's comments, but one said on condition of anonymity that they were ``in bad taste'' and should have been avoided.