Nothing will please the angry cricket mob

Olympus has fallen. The mighty Australian cricket team’s descent into sheer chaos has been cataclysmic, and the empire lies in ruins.

It’s been an attitude problem festering for a decade that’s swelled like the pacific undercurrent, bubbled like the Rotorua hot springs and erupted like Vesuvius.

We’ve been a bit crook, to be fair.

I was a supporter of our infamous approach of breathing fire at every opportunity, but if that mentality can boil over into flagrant disregard for the rules then we’ve lost sight of what’s important.

In hindsight, the signs were there.

The virulent sledging and subsequent scramble for the moral Everest, the pungent arrogance of our players and the dismay at anyone who dare cross our paths have been hallmarks of the current administration.

We’ve gone too far down the road, and it’s time to go back.

However, since I stumbled upon this scandal in the wee hours on Sunday (at a house party with a few beers under my belt) it too has taken a similar trajectory to the plight of the Australian cricket team.

What started out as a legitimate and valid rejection of the Australian team’s antics and attitude, has gathered speed to form a destructive cyclone that’s hunting for witches.

Before you scoff, I am not suggesting Australia hasn’t brought this upon themselves nor am I requesting leniency for the guilty parties. The reaction now just seems to be bordering on the brink of rational blowback to a voracious hunting tribe.

The latest development has seen Steve Smith and David Warner cop a year long ban, with rookie Cameron Bancroft 9 months.

This is an unprecedented punishment for the crime they committed.

Let’s not forget, even some of the most revered cricketers through history have been cited or banned for ball tampering. Twelve months is a sentence that will cost these players their reputation for life and it will shake their mental stability to its foundation.

It does feel like a necessary punishment considering Australia has appointed itself as the moral arbiters of this game in recent years. As I mentioned, this feels less about the crime and more about the culture.

To me, the focus should now turn to repairing Australia’s damaged reputation through a disciplined display of moral aplomb. We should give respect where it’s due, and earn it where we can.

Yet still, some seem hell-bent on crushing the convicted between a hammer and an anvil.

On the home front, incensed supporters are still calling for a lifelong ban. The gunfire has shifted between Warner, Smith, Bancroft, the shadowy leadership group, Lehmann and James Sutherland. Despite the gargantuan penalty imposed, it’s not satisfying the public’s bloodlust.

The English have been the chief antagonist from abroad, and quite frankly it’s becoming obvious that they are seeing this as an opportunity to bury the old enemy as far as they can.

Again it’s not without validation to some extent, but demanding change and accountability is vastly different to launching an all out assault.

Ex and current players, along with pundits, commentators and writers are still swinging wildly at the busted Smith/Warner/Bancroft piñata. For all the undeniable faults of the Australian team, at what point do you become just as ghastly and spiteful as the beast you claim to despise?

The Kiwis haven’t missed a beat either.

While it contains a little less petrol, they have certainly grabbed the scuffed up ball with both hands. Interestingly, most of the Indian commentary I’ve seen has been measured and subdued, almost diplomatic at times. Rohit Sharma and Ashwin were both magnanimous in their review of the incident. It’s propped them up a few levels for mine.

With the category 5 supercell storm set to continue to thunder upon down under, I can only offer my thoughts on how I think we can survive.

Firstly, let’s accept the ban for the trio of tamperers.

They deserve it without objection and should seek no sympathy. They blew it big time, and they must pay this historic price.

In the same breath, let’s all have a ceasefire for a few moments.

We know the warranted ridicule will continue towards Australia and its national side for decades and that’s okay.

But for aggressors both international and domestic who are looking to strike a fatal blow to the condemned men, I’d suggest you do what they should’ve done years ago. Have a good long look in the mirror.