Cricket

[Rorschach]

Betrayal of sportsmanship and Test cricket tradition
The Australian
12:00AM March 26, 2018

Australia is not a nation of cheats, which is why we would rather see our Test team lose than to win by ball-tampering. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner had no alternative but to stand down from their leadership positions yesterday. They took the field in Cape Town under wicketkeeper Tim Paine as acting captain. On Saturday, opener Cameron Bancroft was charged with ball-tampering by the match referee.

It was stupid and shameless. Bancroft knew the plan was risky with “hundreds of cameras around’’. Fans can only wonder how often he, Smith and Warner have watched Test cricket and seen the close-up footage of players’ moves, from every angle. Even a casual glance revealed the bright yellow tape in Bancroft’s hand, which he attempted to hide when he realised the umpires were suspicious, by stuffing it down his pants. One of the points that rankles most is that the cheating, as Smith admitted, was discussed by the team’s leadership group at lunch, who authorised Bancroft, 25, their most inexperienced player, to carry it out.

In a tense series, Australia has appeared to be a team with a siege mentality. But blatant, premeditated cheating, not accepted by any cricketing nation in the world, was no solution. Former skipper Michael Clarke is right when he says: “We’ve got the best bowling attack in the world. We don’t need to cheat to beat anybody.” And Australian cricket is bigger than any individual. That’s why the positions of Smith and Warner were untenable. They must not resume leadership for the fourth Test in Johannesburg nor lead the team again.

From Malcolm Turnbull to the game’s youngest fans, Australians are bitterly disappointed in our most important sporting team, who have apparently lost sight of the reason they represent their country and the expectations their countrymen have of their conduct on the field.

Just two months ago, The Australian named Smith, 28, our Australian of the Year for mastering “the job many of his countrymen regard as the second-most important in the nation’’. We awarded him the honour not only for his Bradmanesque scores but because, we said “he embodies the qualities that define the Australian character at its best”. “He’s a team player as well as a leader, gracious in victory and defeat ... He treats others with respect.,’’ we said. “And unlike some modern sporting stars’, displays of ego and arrogance are not his style’’. We also praised his plain speaking — something Australian cricket needs now.

The sooner Cricket Australia and coach Darren Lehmann face the full gravity of the scandal, the sooner the team can set about restoring self-respect and pride in the baggy green, which will take years. Australian sports have the highest reputation for integrity, as Sport Minister Bridget McKenzie said yesterday. People watching sport need to have confidence in their athletes. In recent years, as cricket and other sports have been tainted by betting and drugs scandals, Australian Test cricket had seemed above the fray. That is where Australians want it to return, after this incident has been investigated properly.

It cannot be swept under the carpet. Nor should it be compared with Greg and Trevor Chappell’s notorious underarm bowling stunt against New Zealand in 1981. That unsporting gesture was against the spirit of the game but not illegal. This is both, a disgrace that will not be forgotten for a long time at home and around the world.

[The Mechanic]

at least the Underarm delivery was within the Rules...

this for me.. is the darkest day in Australian Cricketing History..

they all need to be sacked from international and national cricket... maybe even state and club cricket..

they need to send a message and smash this leadership group..

a bunch of self entitled spoilt brats who are always asking for more money although they are already driving around in ferraris and lamborghinis,..,.. etc etc

sons of bitches...

[cods]

I think this team will have got the message mechanic...

I cant think of anyone that will not have an opinion on it and not a good one..

smith by the look of it will be coming home in disgrace... can it get any worse for him? I dont think so..

he looks like a person who wears his heart on his sleeve...

you know at times its claimed we would rather lose.... but the way I see aussies is they HATE to lose..

I doubt very much this is the d=]first time aussies have tampered with the ball.. come on its been going on for years...

we have been caught badly caught.. in the middle of a very bad tempered series
not much to say... we did it

guilty as charged.

[Rorschach]

at least the Underarm delivery was within the Rules...

this for me.. is the darkest day in Australian Cricketing History..

they all need to be sacked from international and national cricket... maybe even state and club cricket..

they need to send a message and smash this leadership group..

a bunch of self entitled spoilt brats who are always asking for more money although they are already driving around in ferraris and lamborghinis,..,.. etc etc

sons of bitches...

Totally agree.... winning at all costs is not the Australian way and our history has proved that time and time again.

We used to value integrity, but this generation seems to have lost sight of that.

[sprintcyclist]

Winning at all costs has always been the case with competitive games.

I will be at the airport to greet the team of AUSTRALIANS.

[Rorschach]

Winning at all costs has always been the case with competitive games.

I will be at the airport to greet the team of AUSTRALIANS.

LOL
who dragged you up?
what a load of garbage you just posted.

[sprintcyclist]

Every country cheats.

[The Mechanic]

I think this team will have got the message mechanic...

I cant think of anyone that will not have an opinion on it and not a good one..

smith by the look of it will be coming home in disgrace... can it get any worse for him? I dont think so..

he looks like a person who wears his heart on his sleeve...

you know at times its claimed we would rather lose.... but the way I see aussies is they HATE to lose..

I doubt very much this is the d=]first time aussies have tampered with the ball.. come on its been going on for years...

we have been caught badly caught.. in the middle of a very bad tempered series
not much to say... we did it

guilty as charged.

yes... and how stupid could you be knowing that time and time again people get caught out by camera's watching them??

I can't believe anyone in this day and age could be so stupid... struth!!

[Rorschach]

Every country cheats.

Even if that was true.... that doesn't make it right.

We are NOT every other country BTW.
We used to set the example.

[Black Orchid]

There was the suggestion this morning that Steve Smith made up the story about the senior players discussing the 'cheat' just to take the heat off Cameron Bancroft and that the discussion/meeting never happened.

If that is the truth that was a bad decision also.