There has been so much said recently about the ball tampering trio of Steve Smith, Dave Warner and Cameron Bancroft. In particular the rhetoric has recently focused on whether or not their bans should be lifted in light of the damning findings of the independent Cricket Australia review.
Some have implied that CA’s cultural problems are at least partly to blame for these three players’ actions.
I find that a little hard to swallow. In fact, I can’t really see how any of the findings regarding the culture of CA as a whole could in any way detract from the decisions these players made.
From my amateur reading of the findings one thing stands out immediately – it’s an organisational review.
Yet, in real terms, where the players sit within the organisation is well removed from the corporate culture. Players are not sitting in boardrooms having egotistical arguments over the way to move forward or make selections.
They are busy being guided by – first and foremost – coaching staff. Their focus is to win matches.
The review clearly shows that winning was king among the values CA held to in the past few years. If winning was king, it seems respect for the spirit of the game was dunce. And that is unquestionably a problem.
But to assert that Warner and Smith acted the way they did because their employer had a less than ideal culture is simply a cop out.
I’m just gobsmacked by the number of former players who’ve, on the back of this review, come out in support of the banned players and called for their immediate reinstatement.
Ignoring how undeniably underdone these players will be, I feel bringing them back before their full bans have been served would only make things worse for CA.
In the end, it’s a question of what’s right and wrong. And, whether we expect these players to have known the difference.
If you are randomly drug tested at your workplace and offer up a positive result, you can’t blame the possibly quite toxic culture for your actions.
Or at least, you can’t expect that doing so will reverse your firing. A court wouldn’t accept, ‘my boss made me do it’ as an excuse for drug possession. Thus, these players shouldn’t be handed an excuse that mitigates their extremely poor decision making.
Cameron Bancroft of Australia talks to the umpire. (AP Photo/Halden Krog)
I accept the findings of the review and I, like all cricket fans, hope that the issues therein are rectified in a timely manner. But that doesn’t change the fact that these players had a choice to make and they chose wrong over right.
It’s important to know why they did that, which we now do – at least in part. But to shorten their sanctions is simply sending the wrong message. To young cricketers, to amateur cricketers, and to those tasked with turning the CA ship around.
Should they, once they’ve served the bans, be welcomed back and given a chance to once again push for selection? Absolutely. But not at the expense of sending the right message. No one should ever be beyond redemption – but there’s a reason time off for good behaviour was thrown out of the justice system in this country.
Because it doesn’t work. Do the crime, do the time. Then pick yourself up, improve and rebuild. That’s what we should want from these players and CA at large.
In time it may even be appropriate to praise them for the way in which they’ve done that.
But handing them a cop out at this stage fixes nothing. It changes nothing. And it would be a terrible example of an opportunity for change gone begging.
I think Rod Marsh illustrated my point for me quite well on ABC News Breakfast when he said that we should lift the bans and bring the players back for the India test series because we wouldn’t win without them. And there was me thinking a win-at-any-cost culture was what we were trying to change…
Adam Bagnall
Roar Guru
Smith has been making big bucks playing hit and giggle cricket all around the world. He hasn't suffered at all, and in fact has been making a mockery of the ban. It's laughable that he has been playing more cricket while supposedly banned, than at any other time in his career
Jay Rodda Rams
Roar Rookie
They are suspended. Can we stop talking about these cheaters and talk about the team of fair cricketers who are currently playing ch or Australia. Smith should be suspended for another year
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
You forgot one Moose... e. Doing all of the above with childish incompetence.
bobbo7
Guest
So true Spruce. The main crime was lying to umpires on the field, and then lying to the fans about the nature of the event afterwards. Complete idiots and no leadership qualities at all.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I think the reason for considering reducing the bans in light of the review is basically that the bans were always way over the top, and the review has just showed that those who gave the players these bans were the very ones creating the toxic culture and they basically decided to throw the players under the bus hoping that recriminations would stop there and they themselves could get away scott free. Now we can see this is the case. It was a case of those at the top trying to put everything on the players and hide behind that by making the bans so over the top that it could look like they were these wonderful people trying to protect the integrity of the game. It's like Mission Impossible. We'll send you in on this mission, which may require you to do all sorts of dodgy things, but if you are caught doing any, we will disavow any knowledge and throw you under the bus. People talk about number of games being banned versus time. But realise also, that the ban they've had so far, certainly in the case of Warner and Smith, has cost both of them well in excess of $5 million! So even if they've only missed three tests matches so far, it's still already been an incredibly massive penalty they've received.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Exactly, in fact, in every other ball tampering case the players have always continued to deny, and in most cases their boards have stood behind them and fought the charges and done everything they could to get their players off. So a big tick in all those cases for lying to the umpire, conspiring to cheat and seeking to cover it up.
Jordan B
Roar Rookie
CA behaved badly. This may explain the cheating, but it doesn't excuse the cheating.
Jordan B
Roar Rookie
Let the punishment stand. Given Warner and Smith led a promising young Aussie astray, I'm very happy for them to be out of the country when our promising young Aussies are showing their wares.
Jordan B
Roar Rookie
"if...the ban was wrong to start off with...then you vary it". Sure. But it wasn't wrong. So don't vary it.
Jordan B
Roar Rookie
Spot on Neil. If Peever has done wrong it makes much more sense for his punishment to be increased as opposed to the punishments of Smith, Warner and Bancroft to be decreased. I'm sure hoping that many of these other commentators aren't judges in a court of law.
Jordan B
Roar Rookie
Thank you Josh for making sense. You have made a completely coherent argument and I wholeheartedly agree. What those cheaters did was a disgrace and the punishment was fit - I would have given a much harsher ban personally. There are two points you make well Josh to counter much of the arguing that goes on from Roarers and experts alike. Point 1 - Smith, Warner and Bancroft are still responsible for their actions even if CA is "toxic". These cricketers indisputably brought the game into disrepute and thus these cricketers deserve the ban. Point 2 - Smith Warner and Bancroft are Australian and Australians take cheating extremely seriously, even if the ICC and other nations don't. Stop comparing this lot to others. Other sentences may have been light, that doesn't mean they were right.
Neil Back
Roar Rookie
“In your opinion” Not sure who else’s opinion you think I should have?
Mitcher
Guest
Sorry, were you away in a distant land unable to access the internet when this all went down. You’ve invented a scenario to fit your viewpoint.
Mitcher
Guest
Give Neil a break man, he’s far too busy holding those dastardly Aussies to account to consider the English.
Richard Islip
Roar Rookie
Excellent article, and correct.
RobPeters
Roar Rookie
Different boards have different levels of severity and it has been that way for a very long time. You remember the rebel tours to South Africa? The Australian and English players banned for 2-3 years, West Indian players banned for life. There are consequences to our actions. These players all brought the game into disrepute by not just the cheating, but the cover up as well. I also don't believe this win at all costs was mandated at the board level, this was a poor decision by a senior team member who went rogue. To let them play now is to make matters worse as it would show a weak indecisive board and the tail wagging the dog. If Australia lose, they lose. These are the consequences for taking a taking a stand and holding your ground.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
WE are critical when other countries' sportsmen are caught for cheating &crying crocodile tears when caught. Can somebody explain the difference apart from patriotism.
Paul
Roar Guru
Did you understand what he said, especially the second and third paragraphs? My reading makes no sense of his words and I've now read them 4 times.
michael RVC
Roar Pro
Common sense? Your whole premise is compromise and that’s what created this situation in the first place. No, they should be out.
michael RVC
Roar Pro
Spot on Josh. Doesn’t matter at all whatever others do or don’t do. These three deserved their bans and more. They must not be let off.