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For the last 37 years, Trevor Chappell has born the brunt of dastardly and cowardly accusations for bowling underarm at the MCG in a ODI against the Kiwis.
But yesterday when Cameron Bancroft freely admitted he tampered with the ball in Cape Town, Chappell has taken such a back seat no-one has even mentioned his name.
What a relief, especially as the instigator was never Trevor Chappell but his brother Greg, the Australian captain.
The Kiwis needed six off the last ball of the game to tie Australia, prompting Greg to make that disgraceful decision.
Underarm was legal at the time providing the batsman Brian McKechnie was forewarned, but it certainly wasn’t in the spirit of the game.
After the incident, the ICC moved with unheard of speed to ban underarm forever. But Trevor has copped it ever since.
He’s lost count of the number of people he’s met for the first time who greeted him with – “I know you, you’re the bloke who bowled the underarm”.
I once asked Trevor why he didn’t tell Greg to get stuffed and bowl it himself.
“You can’t be serious Lordy,” he replied.
“The Australian cricket captain is the second biggest appointment in Australia to the Prime Minister, and I have vivid memories of playing cricket at home in the backyard as kids with Ian, nine years older, and Greg, four years older – and both much bigger.
“There was no way I was ever going to stand up to either then, nor to Greg at the MCG”.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister at the time was Robert ‘Piggy’ Muldoon who added fuel to the Trans-Tasman fire by adding, “It was an act of cowardice and I consider it appropriate that the Australian team were wearing yellow.”
The upshot to what has been described for 37 years as one of Australian sport’s lowest moments was absolutely nothing.
But it’s a big difference this time.
Cricket Australia stood down Steve Smith and David Warner as captain-vice captain with keeper Tim Paine surprisingly appointed stand-in captain.
The ICC followed swiftly by banning Smith from the next Test at Johannesburg for organising ball tampering, and fining the tamperer Bancroft 75 per cent of his match fee and handing him three demerit points.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
But that won’t be the last word.
Smith admitted at the post-day media conference yesterday the decision to tamper with the ball was made by the leadership group. It is believed that group consists of Smith, Warner, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon.
How Bancroft entered the equation is still unanswered, as is coach Darren Lehmann’s involvement.
How more than half the team thought they could get away with tampering with 30 television cameras all round Newlands beggars belief.
It’s not only cheating, and not in the spirit of the game – but plain bloody stupid.
If you must cheat, don’t compete.
Even the umpires David Llong, and Richard Illingworth, two Englishmen with vast experience, don’t emerge with any credits to their CV.
(AP Photo/Halden Krog)
Obviously the ball had been tampered with, multi-television coverage proved that, but they didn’t change the ball.
The ICC will have something to say about that, while Cricket Australia hasn’t finished with the leadership group, Lehmann and Bancroft by a long shot.
Australia’s second dig overnight chasing 430 to win began with the ultimate irony.
Bancroft was not only guilty of ball tampering, but guilty of ball watching, leaning on his bat at the non-striker’s end.
Warner called for a quick single, but Bancroft wasn’t switched on and was run out.
Who threw the stumps down?
None other than South African captain Faf du Plessis who has twice been found guilty of ball tampering, after pleading not guilty.
The ultimate irony alright, and Trevor Chappell is off the hook.