David Warner has defended his part in the latest verbal spat with between Australia and India.

Warner was involved in a number of flashpoints during a tense Test series between the sides and once again found himself in the thick of things as the rivals met in the Carlton Mid Tri-Series in Melbourne.

Several Australian fielders appeared to take issue when Rohit claimed an overthrow single they felt he should not have attempted, as they felt the ball had deflected off him.

Warner exchanged angry words with Rohit and, after the batsman replied in Hindi, demanded he speak English.

That has caused controversy in some quarters, as well as costing Warner 50 per cent of his match fee.

But he insists his comments were rational and suggested he would repeat them in similar circumstances.

"When I went over to say something to him, he sort of said something in their language and I said 'speak English' because, if you're going to say something for me to understand, theoretically I cannot speak Hindi," Warner told Sky Sports Radio.

"So I did the polite thing and asked him to speak English, therefore he did and I can't repeat what he said.

"I thought I was okay by asking him to speak English and I am going to say it a couple of times if he keeps saying it in Hindi.

"If people get on the wrong side of me, I'm not going to back down."

Australia coach Darren Lehmann, having not been in the middle at the key moment, offered a more circumspect take on things and deferred any further punishments to the ICC.

But he also indicated that he was not perturbed by on-field tension and encouraged his charges to stay close to the boundary of acceptable behaviour.

"David's an aggressive character and we support that, it's just making sure he does the right things on the ground," said Lehmann.

"He knows that more than most. We'll work with him with that.

"We've just got to be mindful of the game of cricket, it's an important entertainment spectacle for people around the world. We've got to make sure we play hard but fair, and don't cross the line.

"If the ICC decide it's not in the spirit of the game or we cross the line, they'll come down on us, we all know that.

"We're always going to teeter pretty close to it, that's the way we play, but we've got to make sure we don't cross it."

Meanwhile, there was positive news from Australia captain Michael Clarke, who is battling to be fit for the World Cup.

He is recovering from hamstring surgery and must be ready to face Bangladesh on February 21 or face being axed from the squad.

Team physio Alex Kountouris said: "Michael is progressing well in his rehab and is currently running on a regular basis and has commenced batting.

"He was reviewed by the surgeon in Melbourne on Sunday who was very pleased with his progress.

"He remains on track for a return to play by 21 February."

Australia will be without captain George Bailey when they take on England in Hobart on Friday.

Bailey has been banned for one match by the ICC, and fined 20 per cent of his match fee, for a slow over-rate against India.

Bailey had already been found guilty of a similar offence in the past year, leading to an automatic ban, while the rest of the home team each face a 10 per cent fine after being judged one over short after time allowances.

The ICC also confirmed Warner's punishment.

A statement read: "As Bailey had previously been found guilty of a minor over-rate offence in One-Day Internationals within the last 12 months, this offence constituted his second minor over-rate offence for the purposes of the ICC Code of Conduct. Bailey pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

"In another incident, Warner has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee after committing a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.

"Warner admitted to a breach of Article 2.1.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which provides that an offence will be committed where a player engages in "... conduct that either : (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute".

"The incident happened on the last ball of the 22nd over when Warner approached India batsman Rohit Sharma and confronted him aggressively after the batsmen had taken a run from an over-throw. The Australian had to be withdrawn from the confrontation by both the on-field umpires.

"Warner accepted the offence and the proposed sanction, and therefore a formal hearing was not required."