The ball-tampering scandal from the third Test in South Africa is a cancerous tumour on Australian cricket. It must be removed.
What was going through Steve Smith’s mind when he and the rest of the side’s leadership group decided to tamper with the ball following the lunch break is as unfathomable as it is inexcusable.
It reeks of stupidity. That Smith and company thought they’d be able to defy the game’s laws without any of the cameras incriminating them is a sad indictment of the leadership group’s intelligence.
It displays a complete disregard for the ethos in which cricket is played in this country. Hard but fair? Good luck convincing anyone that’s how we play the game in Australia from now on.
Steve Smith spoke of being “embarrassed” in his press conference after Day 3 in Cape Town. I can guarantee that feeling was shared by just about every single Australian supporter around the globe. This country doesn’t like cheats. Far better to lose a game fighting fairly to the end than resort to such cowardly tactics.
Opposition fans, as Glenn Mitchell pointed out in the immediate aftermath of the incident, already had little love for the manner in which the Australian team plays their cricket, the manner in which they conduct themselves.
These complaints can now no longer be laughed off simply because they come from people who don’t get it. They have been validated by the actions of our captain and a number of his teammates.
Steve Smith’s position as Australian cricket captain is therefore untenable. That he initially said he won’t even consider stepping down as skipper – only to do so less than 24 hours later – is only further proof that he’s unsuitable for the job.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Cricket fans in Australia are hurting. We don’t want to be led by a man who is a cheat. And while Smith saved the slightest amount of face by owning up to the offence, starting that infamous press conference by telling Cameron Bancroft – a guilty party but one of the greenest members of the team – to explain what happened has rankled with many fans.
If you’re the captain, the instigator of the plan, take every damn question from the press yourself.
Regardless of the admission, Smith’s performance, for lack of a better word, at that press conference yesterday was cringeworthy. He seemed like a chastened schoolboy, not the holder of what so many Australians jokingly but semi-seriously think of as the second most important job in the country.
Smith must be sacked as captain for good. He has already been suspended from playing in the fourth Test by the ICC, but Cricket Australia must also ban him for the following ODI series against England.
Any other members of the team involved in the tampering plan should also have their leadership team credentials revoked for good, and suspended for the next Test. Fly them and Smith back to Australia.
Some have argued for more substantial bans – lifelong suspensions, never being selected for Australia again and the like. Such a punishment, even for Smith, would be an overreaction.
As black a mark on Australian cricket as it is, this wasn’t an offence which should see anyone ostracised from the game for the rest of their lives.
The long memories of sporting fans will ensure the perpetrators’ reputations will be severely tarnished for the rest of their careers. That, in itself, is a tough punishment.
But it’s a fair one. Many have claimed this marks the darkest day in Australian cricket since the infamous – but still technically legal – underarm. This deliberate disregard for the Laws of Cricket is worse.
Australian cricket fans aren’t angry with our team. We’re just disappointed.
Actually, no. We’re pretty angry too.
And the player who’s caused that has no place captaining the Australian cricket team ever again.
Razzar
Guest
Give both at least two years...best not to reward them with an Ashes series in 15 months.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Why does most this on this site gets referred back to a simpsons episode????
DeeDee47
Guest
Having been in legal practice since 1968, I have some knowledge of jurisprudence. The presumption of innocence had developed well before the present Westminster system. That system largely deals with the relationships between the legislature, administration and the judicature. It does not apply in eg the US, where the presumption of innocence also applies - nor in many of the other democracies around the world. Yes, actus non fecit reus nisi sint mens rea and all that. These players have admitted tampering and knowing at that time that what they were doing was wrong.
Bakkies
Guest
Smith's due to expire at the end of next month.
Bakkies
Guest
Jimmy on the topic of deflecting, these ex English players are deflecting from their own team's performances. A lot of them are paid to commentate on the England team.
Bakkies
Guest
You're not wrong. When Tubby towed Big Merv in to line he was actually the vice captain. Border was due to retire and they hadn't got to the point in regards to who was going to take over.
Stuart Bywater
Guest
Liam, Your response does not rebut my comment, nor does it support your claim that my comment is wrong. It ignores my comment beyond your tedious and overstated tangential preference for punishment rather than restitution or rehabilitation. Recounting other players' indiscretions shows that the players' behaviour is not without precedent. To suggest, I seek to minimise their actions is absurd. I merely seek to understand them. CA and the ICC need to reflect upon how their own structures contribute.
Stuart Bywater
Guest
Dee Dee, An elementary knowledge of jurisprudence would understand the connection between the legislature and the judicature. Our legislative system is based on the Westminster system that has steadfastly maintained the presumption. To inappropriately focus on this point is to ignore the point of my comment. The players admitted the actus reus. My comment concerned the mens rea. Of course, the players knew they were cheating but what brought them to the state of mind? I agree the players should be sanctioned but rather than adopt hysterical piety regarding the act, commentators need to pause and reflect upon the cause of the mental state of the players that led to the ball tampering. The cocooning of players from a young age and non-stop touring/playing prevent players from experiencing social balance in their formative years.
Wayne Turner
Guest
Spot on.
Wayne Turner
Guest
Two totally non related issues. And illogical to compare.
Wayne Turner
Guest
Self inflicted. They should have thought about it when they cheated. Consequences is all on them. Mental Health can't be an excuse to be soft on people that cheat by doing the wrong thing on purpose.
Richard
Guest
So it's ok for Aussies to call for lifetime bans on drug cheats but this one is fine. I quote the Aussie swimmer "cheating is cheating". Double standards Australia!
Richard
Guest
Do you own research buddy, it's called Google. Aussies are the most arrogant fans in the world - they're only "fair" when they're winning but they're just a bunch of sore losers.
Wayne Turner
Guest
1 match ban is only the weak penalty from the ICC. The ACB can be better than that.Just don't pick all the player's involved for the national team.They can continue to play cricket,just not for Australia. We can and should have high standards.
DeeDee47
Guest
The presumption of innocence has nothing to do with the Westminster System, and vice versa. Nothing at all. And in any event, the players have admitted their offence - probably in the hope that the admission will weigh in their favour on penalty.
Bugsy
Guest
I see all these comments about " just a bad mistaje" Well having played cricket at a fair level I can tell you if one of my team mates were caught doing this there would be only one result! If you cheat knowingly be aware of the consequences...it's the same in normal every day life.
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Lehmann also should be sacked from Coaching.
Liam
Guest
Your comment is interesting, but ultimately wrong. In the situation in which a criminal must be rehabilitated, you would be completely correct; they will have served out their punishment, as is just, and can re-enter society. They will have served their crime, and it serves no-one to keep them absent from society then, unless their crime is so severe that they will pass on naturally before their crimes are adequately paid for. For humans, being part of a collective is as close to a universal nature as any right we ascribe to ourselves; even within prisons, outside of solitary confinement, people form groups, societies. Cricket is not like that. It is a sport, an isolated one; it is prestigious, like an exclusive club. If Smith were to break the law, keeping him separate from society is intended not only as punishment but as safekeeping for the rest of us, and depriving him of our company is punishment too. But by banning him - whether for a short time or for life - fails to acknowledge that cricket, unlike society, is limited. Smith, Warner, and whoever else involved can and will find gainful occupation elsewhere; their lives and their freedom are not at stake here. What they have done will change their existence irretrievably, but they will not be forcibly separated from the rest of us, only from cricket. It is also noteworthy that holding sportspeople to a higher standard than common law is not without precedent, either, as we can clearly see from the findings of WADA with regards to Essendon. The Essendon players were found guilty on the balance of probabilities rather than reasonable doubt, and were suspended because of it. We also deprive people of things we believe they've lost their rights to; see driver's licenses. There is plenty of precedent for depriving Smith and co of the occupation they have proven themselves unfit for. Trying to minimise the doings of Smith and co by bringing up past indiscretions of past players is irrelevant. Smith willingly entered into a days play with the intention of cheating to win. How does a drunken night compare to that? As for Faf du Plessis's ball-tampering, South Africa have demonstrated that they hold their cricketers to no higher code, no level above the basest desire for victory. It has been clear by their attitude from the beginning of this series, with the release of the stairwell footage of Warner going off, and it has been clear by their attitude to Rabada's penalty and send offs. If they wish to play their cricket that way, that's fine for them; for us, for Australians, this behavior is not acceptable. There is a reason we have been uneasy about the level of animosity between the two teams; it's put paid to our ideals of 'hard but fair', before Smith drove a bulldozer through that concept for all of us. Shattered, we are now, amidst the ruins of what never was. I believe that a just and fair review should proceed from here, and that Cricket Australia can and should find out the full involvement in the scheme. Any who were involved or knew about it and said nothing should be suspended, and Smith, Lehmann and Warner should serve double the length they get; none should ever serve as any kind of leader again, and if they all receive life bans, I would not be against it. How else can we pick up the ruins of our credibility, and rebuild the bastion of Australian cricket again?
kman
Guest
the story of how steve smith became captain is in his own book. put in- ""Steve Smith reveals in new book the unconventional surrounds that led to him becoming Australian captain""-.into google . Tell me with a serious face this is how the most important sporting job in Australia should be decided .
Johnno
Guest
Almost 40,000 read maybe a roar article record...