Australia has just joined the rare number of countries that have been accused/caught of ball tampering.
Only India, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka and South Africa are in the same boat. (This may explain the demise of New Zealand and West Indies since Richard Hadlee/Curlty Ambrose?).
What then is different?
Is it because Aussies demand we play in the spirit of the game above all else? Australia II, the use of Polynesian players as ‘Aussies’ in union/league, or ‘take it to the US’ Basketball teams and numerous other cases where we say things are (r)evolutionary while others called us cheats sort of weaken that argument.
Is it because we like to point the fingers at other nations in cricket (Murali throws, Binga doesn’t; South African crowds are hostile meanwhile ours are enjoying the fun; India doctors wickets – ours reflect our conditions etc)?
Maybe.
Or is it that Steve Smith broke the cardinal rule in the professional era? Bend the rules as far as possible and if you cross the line, deny deny deny.
For all of the outrage, I believe that the moment when this became huge was the press conference when Steve Smith said ‘Yeah, we did it’
Is this not the standard we tell – our kids we want (if you lie it’s worse); our pollies we need (just level with us;) and ourselves we live (a little white lie never hurt if it was best intentioned).
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
I contend that Smith’s open acknowledgment has had such an impact due to the fact it was the truth, and a very inconvenient one.
Acres of print and comment over recent years has been about how s*** the Aussie teams are. How for the money these cricketers get paid they should be more hard edged and keen to win.
“Where is their never say die attitude, their will to win?” is a question asked many times in the last five years and I for one cannot remember a time when anyone said, they’re now ranked fourth in the world but at least we’ve never been accused of breaking the rules.
So, let me be blunt. This is a giant story because it exposes our national sports followers and administrators rank hypocrisy. We hold our teams to the impossible standard of always winning – at all costs – while simultaneously satisfying ourselves to some old style belief that we’re always gentleman and very sportsmanlike at the same time.
We want to kid ourselves that the pursuit of victory can always be achieved without giving in to temptation. If you think I am wrong (yes I am wearing a tomato proof suit in preparation) ask yourself this.
When your team is in the doldrums do you go out and support as often as you do when they’re winning?
Unless you are a true die-hard, the crowd figures suggest you don’t. What then does CA understand like any other entertainment provider? Great performances put bums on seats/eyeballs on screen and this equals revenue.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Steve Smith should be judged no harsher than the salesman who offers a special discount to get the sale and then gets his boss to sign off on it post event; the accountant who asks for you to have your accounts cleaned up by date of audit or the pollie who says they really wanted to do X but circumstances don’t allow.
He is human, and made a terrible mistake. How long it was premeditated for is immaterial. He did something stupid and against the rules, yet the rest of us who do this every day are now standing in our glass houses throwing stones like people possessed.
So, judge Steve Smith all you like, but next time you cut a corner, please ensure you judge yourself just as harshly – because as Australians that’s what we expect
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