Tubby pulls the pin on Cricket Australia

except no other possible previous instances of such behaviour have been uncovered, and you can bet the footage would've been well + truly scrutinized by now, so it is very likely that this was the first case of such a blatant cheating method being employed. This makes sense for a number of reasons, the game situation was already pretty hopeless by then so it is unlikely the entire team + coach would have agreed to such an idiotic tactic at that time. The argument that the bowlers must have known because they were the main beneficiaries is nonsensical. If anything this was the act of an unhinged and angry individual since it was so poorly executed, and any cost benefit consideration should have ruled it too risky. I think the state of mind that Warner was in at the time fits this description. It is unclear how involved Smith was in the decision to cheat, but the point to note is that he was struggling with the bat and getting no support from team mates, and hence the team was performing poorly. The fact is that Smith, with support from Warner, were the mainstays of the batting and without them performing the rest of the team were failing miserably. With a coach who appears to have been of little help and support I suspect the captain was overwhelmed and obviously very much flustered at the time which might help explain why he agreed to, or at least did not stop the ball tampering plan, if he did indeed have prior knowledge of it. But of course conspiracy theories will always abound!

Four day tests are a commercial priority and really would have profound negative consequences for spinners in the game. Taylor is very good at bringing things up on the channel nine commentary, and he never overplays his hand , and says something like Test cricket will dissapear if we dont do it like the others. Peever and Sutherland also supported 4 day test matches. Pink ball, day night tick tick tick on all three. Pink ball is going to change the odd test match not like 4 days will so is not a big concern. Why does Mark Taylor write in article that he would like to see Kohli alongside Steve Smith in the Big Bash . That was the ultimate goal for Sutherland to get Indian players into the Big Bash, Peever only came in 3 years ago , Taylor said so himself he is the longest serving board member at 13 years. Sutherland was there since 2001. Lehman was appointed in 2013. So if the other board members supported Peever why didn't they come out in support of him. One resigned recently over Peever. So who helped appoint Peever,, all we seem to know is that Sutherland and Peever are close, and the only board member in public supporting Peever is Taylor.

Exactly. And any argument saying that past teams are therefore just as guilty is missing the point. The reality is a lot of people still don't believe the official story (well the 2nd version) of what went on that day, and rightly so. Just out of curiosity, how much do you think it would of hit CA if indeed the whole team was in on it? Weren't they negotiating the new broadcasting rights at the time? If its a cheating team every sponsor is out the door right. How much is that? Imagine if Lehmann quit before the Steve Smith apology? All of a sudden you have a cheating team. Why did James Sutherland originally say he wasn't going over there, only to change his mind? What made him change his mind? "Darren Lehmann is expected to announce his resignation as head coach of Australia in the next 24 hours, becoming the first casualty of the ball-tampering scandal. Sources in Australia have told Telegraph Sport Lehmann is ready to stand down with immediate effect and his decision is partly why James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, suddenly announced on Monday that he is flying to South Africa."

Yes, but that's only half the argument. While the players doing the tampering might be batsmen, they don't benefit from the tampering - the bowlers do. So it's totally illogical to think that the bowlers don't know what's going on.

Yeah I can't agree with Taylor being a lazy skipper either, he was a great brain on the field and unlike AB, actually stood up to Bob Simpson and insisted on being in charge and making the calls himself. Shane Warne, who is not shy of bagging out pretty much everyone he played with & rates himself fairly highly as a student of the game has repeatedly said Mark Taylor was the most clued up skipper he ever had, which is high praise given how reluctant he usually is to give endorsements

Denial and ad hominem is hardly a valid argument.

No, they really aren't. A few noisy drones are not 'the rest of the cricketing world'. Most players who have been caught ball tampering are batsmen.

The whole board should be fired. The mere fact that David Peevers was re-elected a week before the report was released to the public, shows that all the member are far too complicit. The next chairman should be appointed for a short term, with the specific transformation objective of changing the culture. A person from within the existing culture, who knows no other culture will simply fail. An ex cricket will not have the skills nor smarts to do it. We need someone from overseas, or a woman, for 18 months.

As much as I think Taylor is a decent individual, he has been a part of this board whilst everything has gone sour. Of course he needed to go, and so do all the other board members.

You're off the money Leuco, while both AB and WaughS were gutsy captains, neither were in Taylor's league as attacking tacticians !!

Taylor's hoping his retirement from the board will be the circuit breaker.

After his comments about the opportunism of the ACA I think he realised staying on the Board was untenable. Not that I think he was necessarily wrong in what he said, but it was unnecessary to say publicly.

Mark Taylor gets a lot of respect from me for some straight shooting answers on Sunday. He gets more respect for seemingly accepting that he holds some level of responsibility for the mess CA find themselves in, or accepting that he's not going to be able to steer CA in the right direction and immediately vacated the chair. Tbh, when you've aligned yourself with Peever (and Taylor had), then you were left with few options.

What's the issue with 4 day Tests? This has been an international issue for at least 12 months and Taylor offered an opinion. Peever and Sutherland ran the show at CA, end of story. I'd be surprised if Taylor was simply window dressing, but I doubt greatly he had a lot of influence, certainly nowhere near the pull of Peever.

David, I might be one of only a few who supports you in this piece. Taylor assessed the situation and managed his departure with dignity. I for one belieive he has contributed greatly to Australian cricket and the ACA felt the same, otherwise they wouldn't have made the comments they did. He's clearly still respected across Australian cricket and as you say, his role now is to be a positive, unifying force, using his contacts with the Board and the ACA to foster positive relationships. He can also use the media to promote positive messages, without Board interference. All in all, you're right about what you've written. Well done.

Some of your comment about the Chappells and Taylor make no sense. If Ian and Greg been around the traps for decades with their fingers in Australian cricket, this implies they've had direct involvement in some of the greatest sides Australia's ever produced. Why didn't you call for their "exiting the building" then? As for Taylor, you've tarred him with the same brush as everyone else based on what facts? That he was a member of the Board? How can a lot of the toxicity be put at Taylor's feet? What do you know that the rest of us don't that caused you to make this comment? The fact that he was in place on the Board for 13 years, or your assumption he did nothing based on what? I agree the board needs a fresh start and also agree Taylor's resignation from the Board was a positive move, but will never agree this man was a part of any toxic culture in Australian cricket unless you or someone else can show me some indisputable facts to prove that.

Re Taylor as a board member - well said. The saviour was never going to be someone who had sat on the board for 13 years and presided over the transition of out domestic comp and national team from powerhouses to mediocre. Let's not forget that Taylor publicly supported Peever's re-election as chair. The best thing Taylor could have done was recognise that he'd served his time and move on. For this, I congratulate him. A few others need to consider their own positions in the coming seasons too. No one should ever be on a board of any organisation for more than 10-12 years. Re Taylor as a captain - no way. I don't know what you mean by lazy but as a tactician on the field, Taylor was head and shoulders above AB, Waugh and Ponting. He read the game beautifully. Far more pro-active, far less defensive. He just wasn't the big presence that those three giants of the game were.

Meanwhile the rest of the cricketing world is still asking how the bowlers were not in on it when the three that got caught aren't even bowlers! Why did the innocent coach avoid the media at the end of that days play? The great escape by Cricket Australia (tips hat). Keep telling everyone is was a few cheating individuals.

Look who's showing his face after that shambolic article yesterday full of incorrect facts. Typical - when he can't defend the indefensible, he cowers away. When someone challenges him on a fair point, he arcs up. There's a word for that - rhymes with the surname of the former PM you want to be chair. Who was the oldest player in the South African team on Sunday, David?

I am 65 years of age and have loved test cricket since my dad took me to Adelaide Oval as a boy to watch Gary Sobers plunder our bowlers in 1969. Mark Taylor has been my most admired cricket figure in that time as a solid opener, great captain, sensible commentator and loyal statesman. For the parlous state of our game to bring him to his knees when nothing else could - it breaks my heart ! Where will this all end ?