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A modern day disgrace

(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
25th March, 2018
8

Over the weekend in South Africa, we witnessed the culmination of one of Test cricket’s great rivalries cross an invisible line for which there is no recourse, no way to come back from.

Trailing an imposing Proteas outfit in challenging bowling conditions, the Australian team resorted to the lowest level of sportsmanship imaginable – cheating.

As a nation we pride ourselves on being tough but fair, a motto not only taught to our children, but etched into our national psyche, worn as a badge of pride since before most of us were born.

All the things that happened in world cricket in the last 30 years, including issues with Zimbabwe, South Africa and Pakistan, pale in comparison to Cameron Bancroft’s use of tape and pitch granules to change the condition of the ball.

The cricket world has predictably reacted with shock and outrage at Australia’s pre-meditated attempt to cheat against South Africa.

Captain Steve Smith fronted the press after the day’s play with Bancroft already cited for ball tampering in the second session of play, caught shoving the tape down his pants on television.

Former captain Michael Clarke certainly channelled the feelings of most Australian cricket fans.

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In an extraordinary end-of-play press conference, Bancroft admitted to tampering with the ball to have it replaced, and Smith revealed that the idea was in fact his and the team’s leadership group.

Bancroft has since been charged by the match referee, fined 75 per cent of his match fee and given three demerit points, however he’s avoided a one-Test suspension.

Steve Smith has been suspended for the next Test by the ICC, but could yet face sanction from Cricket Australia. And despite stepping down from the captaincy for the last day of the third Test, he initially refused to resign as captain.

“I won’t be considering stepping down. I still think I’m the right person for the job,” he said.

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“Today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group’s behalf as well.

“I take responsibility as the captain. I need to take control of the ship.

“I’m incredibly sorry for trying to bring the game into disrepute the way we did.

“This is certainly something I’m not proud of and something that I can hope to learn from and come back strong from.”

Steve Smith

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Perhaps the most incredulous aspect of this whole affair is the complicit nature of the team, leadership group and coaches for not only condoning it, but encouraging. Worse still is the fact that the newest member of the team became the patsy.

I don’t know how on earth Smith can’t see what’s entirely wrong with what he did. Despite the fact that the 28-year-old has a near flawless record, he went on to say that he would feel “bad” if he wasn’t caught.

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“If we weren’t caught I’d still feel incredibly bad about it … it’s a big error in judgment,” he said.

“It was a poor choice and deeply regrettable.

“I can promise you it won’t happen again.”

The four-Test tour of South Africa has been marred by a number of spiteful and ugly controversies, but none of what’s gone on before gives any excuse for what was done on Day 3.

“The Australian camp has been lecturing people lately on how the game should be played and a line that shouldn’t be crossed,” former England captain Nasser Hussain told Sky Sports.

“Some of the stuff that has come out of the Australian camp, especially, has been laughable.”

Retired Test batsman Kevin Pietersen and injured pace bowler Dale Steyn weighed in and said that nothing is ever done without the consent of the captain and coach.

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“This will be Darren Lehmann’s greatest test as a coach, cos (sic) I will struggle to believe that this was all Bancroft’s idea,” Pietersen posted on Twitter.

“Nothing in professional sport is done without the consent of your captain and coach,” Dale Steyn said.

The fall of Smith will be sharp and sudden. Once one of the most respected members not only of the Australian cricket team, but international Test cricket, there’s no way that he can recover from this controversy.

Given match television footage suggested communication between Lehmann and 12th man Handscomb, who then relayed the message to Bancroft, its inconceivable that Lehmann, the coaches and senior leadership didn’t know about the plan.

There’s no way that Lehmann and Smith should survive this ordeal. If anything, the team should be changed significantly ahead of the fourth Test.

For a cricketer whose career has been built on the foundations of deep admiration and respect, intentional and orchestrated cheating has all but eroded it, and left him clinging to not just the captaincy, but the team like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic.

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