It’s dark out here beyond the circle. There air is sweet with smoke and sweat. Angry eyes all wet and vacant. Teeth glint off burning lanterns. Hey, what’s going on in there? I clench my pitchfork all the same. Tonight, they seethe, there’s witches afoot.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I love being part of an angry mob. Probably more than the next guy. Witch hunt, why, bags me the skin!
But, no, I’m not ready to give up my hero – not Steve Smith, not for this. I step back. Have I gone soft?
So, like a missing character from The Wizard of Oz, I’m on a winding journey to find my righteous sense of moral outrage.
Firstly: Is ball tampering really that bad? I’d argue not. It’s a desperate act from a struggling team. The Aussies were getting slaughtered, and, after giving the cherry a decent rub, no genie seemed to appear. It’s the cricket equivalent of jumping the shark, as the rules tacitly acknowledge. A penalty of five runs is hardly Test-defining. It’s equivalent to the ball hitting your hat.
Next: Were Smith’s actions out of context? Probably not. There’s a fine line between augmentation and tampering. Ask any cosmetic surgeon. Hands a bit moist? It looked like an apple? Just sharing your lollies? The defence calls the following witnesses: Messers Atherton, Afridi and de Villiers. All team captains. All caught fiddling. And Smith’s was by proxy.
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And finally: should Smith be held to a higher standard than everyone else? Um, maybe. I’ll quote he’s “not fit to lead our country” and “…a humbled Australia stands aghast at the weekend’s events”. We even got an email from James Sutherland that led with “we are sorry”. Thanks K-Rudd.
Can I add that a humble blogger stands amused at this stream of hot air?
And what’s with the notion that we Aussies play the game ‘tough but fair’? It seems a little self-indulgent. Conceited even.
I talk to a lot of fans from across the globe and it doesn’t jive with their vista. Tough, yes, but fair? Well, as fair as the next team, I guess.
Winning pays bills, so winning wins out. Do we gnash our canines at Cam Smith when he slows down the ruck? Claw at Michael Hooper for giving up a strategic penalty? No. These are both somewhat ‘premeditated’ and ‘against the spirit of the game’ – so where does the canny professional end our derided pariah begin? With execution, perhaps.
So, at the end of my road, I’ve come to a stop. Tampering isn’t that bad and Steve Smith wasn’t alone.
Should he be treated like everybody else? Of that, I’m not so sure.
Let’s put the pitchforks down for a second. Just take a deep breath. Even witches get a trial.
Dave
Guest
Hear hear, although winning Test matches hardly pays the bills compared to IPL contracts and sponsorships from Weetbix and LG. So the motivation was all about winning not money. And it wasnt a great risk-reward ratio in the end, as has become quite clear!
Ann Noni Moose
Guest
The overreaction has damaged cricket and especially Australian cricket far more than the ball tampering. I am not sure why we are so keen to destroy our own. It seems masochistic. Last time the media freaked out about the team's behaviour they were harangued by the press for years as being "too soft" and there were calls for "more steel". Remember Kim Hughes? Then, once the team gets mean again they accused of overdoing it. Stay tuned - I can see the Aussie team going on a losing streak and I expect history to repeat. Also, a word about corporate sponsors pulling out and standing in moral judgement of these sportspeople. I would say that every wrong thing those cricketers did in their lives would pale compared with corporate cheating, tax avoidance and misdeeds. The hypocrisy should be pointed out.
paul j
Guest
They should be punished severely if an ordinary australian cheated either on taxes or welfare and were stupid enough to get caught they'd be punished if we cheated or stole from employer we'd be sacked and reputation tarnished. Who cares if other countries and captains do it. Doesn't make it right if we then do it. It has just shown how Hypocritical they are. Can't play the game right don't play and hand back that top income you are getting because you can hit a ball better than others. They should show pride in playing for Australia and most of all some pride in themselves they should be better than stooping to such low acts of cheating. It might be a desperate act from a struggling team and that makes it ok in your eyes well you should show some pride in youirself. Its not ok to cheat so blatantly
Paul
Roar Guru
The ball tampering on its own is not a serious offence and the penalties handed out by the ICC are probably fair and reasonable. This issue though, is the culmination of many issues probably stretching back to the Clarke captaincy, where Australia has set itself up as almost holier than thou, yet has been shown to be as bad if not worse than all other teams playing the game. Australia has consistently taken the moral high ground and Smith has out front defending his players when they've done some incredibly dumb things. The moral outrage is a fair chunk of the Australian public saying "enough".
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
Oddly enough Steve Waugh doesn't agree with you... Hmm, who should I align myself with? Someone who blogs anonymously or someone whose foundation is changing lives? Tough choice, I'm really struggling ?????
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
Warner's been the ball dodgier (as opposed to polisher) for ages til the last test.
Grafter
Roar Rookie
History and experience says short leg always get the job. Touches the ball the most. Pretty sure a 25 year old can make his own choices.
664 neighbour of the beast
Guest
Oh Jake...such a bitter bitter little man. So sad and i apologise for the Kiwi and Pom that slept with your partner. Will that do it?
SJ
Guest
Moral outrage, sanctimony - Funny, given that's what everyone else was saying characterised this Australian team before this incident shut them up.
mushi
Guest
Warner and Smith had plenty of that earlier in the series...
BrainsTrust
Guest
Winning does not pay the bills. losing does to England. The Ashes goldmine only happened when Australia lost .Also Pakistan they have never made a cent out of winning its all from losing. Lets also have a look at the track record of this Australian team away from home. Do they really care about winning away from home any more . They really don't if they did they would prepare better. They did well in India recently thanks to that genius plan of playing for the straight ball because the Indians sabotaged their own team by scuffing up the wicket by hand resulting in random spin. My opinion is that they got the idea if they get Rabada suspended then thats a good betting opportunity. Then once they put the money on and Rabada got off this was the result. Smith I don't understand, Jardine wasn't a fast bowler so he couldn't deliver the short balls, otherwise it would have been 6 bouncers an over. Smith talks up sledging and he supported mint sucking but he does nothing himself, half the fun is in doing these things yourself. I watched him at first slip after the mintgate and he doesnt polish the ball , he seems to spit on his hands though and do nothing with it.
Jake
Guest
Go and grab a couple of whiny poms or kiwis if you need your moral outrage quota filled. They've got plenty to spare. Sanctimony too, if you're looking for that
anon
Roar Pro
I'm already over it. Not the first and last players to cheat by tampering with the ball. Bancroft and Smith will wear this for the rest of their lives. Punish them and there's nothing else to really talk about. The worst part for me is how gutless Smith was in having Bancroft act the equivalent of his drug mule. Cowardly, dog behaviour to pressure a junior member of a group to do something you wouldn't have the guts to do yourself.
Sausage Sam
Guest
what kind of world do we now exist in, where moral outrage over ball-tampering in a cricket match far outweighs that of long suffering refugees and the displaced millions from ongoing wars and political persecution? we are so entitled on our vast suburban island...