Australia’s best batsmen, David Warner and Steve Smith, have completed their 12-month suspensions for ball tampering in South Africa, but the pundits have predicted they will cop plenty of abuse from English crowds throughout the World Cup.
If it happens, that would be pretty two-faced.
The first to be charged with ball-tampering was England’s young captain Mike Atherton in 1994, against South Africa.
That was a historic Test in many ways.
It was South Africa’s first Test against England in 29 years after their isolation over apartheid ended, and it was fitting it should be at the home of cricket, Lord’s.
South Africa cruised home by 356 runs, still one of England’s worst defeats in a four-innings Test. But it was Atherton who is still talked about more than any other aspect of the series.
He put dusty soil in his pocket on the third day to change the condition of one side of the ball, and his actions were picked up by television cameras.
Atherton became the first to be charged with ball tampering, and after lengthy meetings he escaped a suspension but was fined £1000 for the offence and another £1000 for concealing the fact from the ICC match referee, the former Australian Test batsman Peter Burge.
So English crowds can hardly chirp Warner and Smith when one of their most accomplished Test batsmen was the original ball-tamperer.
Wisden described the incident: “If Atherton was a cheat, he wasn’t a very good one.
“England’s bowlers mostly failed, though not quite as humiliatingly as their batsmen.”
England’s ordinary team was Atherton (c), Alec Stewart, John Crawley, Graeme Hick, Graham Gooch, Craig White, Steve Rhodes, Ian Salisbury, Phil de Freitas, Darren Gough and Angus Fraser.
South Africa’s was Kepler Wessels (c), Andrew Hudson, Gary Kirsten, Hansie Cronje, Peter Kirsten, Jonty Rhodes, Brian McMillan, Derek Richardson, Craig Matthews, Fanie de Villiers, and Allan Donald.
Atherton was just 26 at the time and went on to become England’s most capped captain, with 54 Tests, until another opening batsman, Alastair Cook – now Sit Alastair – took over with 59.
Since then Atherton, an all-time good bloke, has become one of the very best television commentators in world cricket and will be on duty at the World Cup.
But he’ll always be cricket’s first convicted ball-tamperer, not one of his finest moments.
Best the English crowds remember that fact.
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
Sad man, cricket isn't the real world, just to simplify it for you.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Conspiracy to commit - 1 Year by CA. Guilty of ball tampering - 1 match by ICC. What's the real world penalty equivalent?
ak
Roar Guru
Warner will definiely be able to cope up with any sledging. Smith I am not sure. Anyways I the Poms will not win. ODI World Cup is not their cup of tea.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
That was always the original purpose of the Barmy Army as they came over to Australia in the 1990s. To try to spoil enjoyment of repeated Australian victories for Australians. Which it probably does a bit for those who go to the ground, but otherwise not much.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Wasn’t just Atherton. Trescothick confessed that England had ball tampered in the 2005 series. But England’s biggest hypocrisy is the fact that Ben Stokes was only suspended for a few months, and immediately forgiven just because he got off a serious conviction in court. Apparently you only bring the game into serious disrepute in England if you do gaol time. Imagine if that standard was applied to Folau, let alone Smith and Warner!. But it’s not about fairness or hypocrisy, it’s about England fans having leverage to put them off their game. And using sandpaper gives more fertile ground for mockery than soil in the pocket.
Quintin Gough
Guest
Better make sure it's the real one first. I think you can check check it by applying a plaster and then peeling it off.
DLKN
Guest
"David Warner and Steve Smith, have completed their 12-month suspensions for ball tampering in South Africa" David - it doesn't matter how many times you state this, it will never be an accurate comment. Their bans for ball-tampering were two tests each, from memory. Not 12 months. The 12-month bans were, in large part, for their duplicitous, dishonest and dishonourable actions AFTER the ball tampering was discovered. They lied to the umpires, the match referee, the media and when first interviewed by team officials. It's not hard to read the facts - they're all in CA's published decision. Or is your spin supposed to be more credible? Can we assume that your statement is either incompetent, shoddy or deliberately misleading journalism? It has to be at least one of those, given how easy it is to access the published facts. Warner and Smith will deserve every bit of flack they cop from crowds and media for the rest of their careers. They deserve to be cut zero slack until they fully disclose what happened, whose idea it was, who knew and when.
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
By any chance are you Jamie Oliver's culinary advisor?
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
The young English would be close to correct. Further back than 15 or so years ago the English were even more rubbish than they are now and haven't played "cricket" for some years!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Not if you are a Saffer ... or Atherton ... or Rahul Dravid ... or the 2005 English team ... or ...
Jeffrey Dun
Roar Rookie
"British fans tend to be a little more dipolmatic ...". Mitch Johnson would not agree. The sledging to which he was subjected was very personal.
13th Man
Guest
Warner and Smith are big boys, they'll cop it and rightly so. Best way to shut up the barmies is to make a ton of runs and reminding them that we are a superior cricketing nation to them and always will be.
13th Man
Guest
And i'd happily support NZ over India or England as well for that matter. This isn't rugby. Love the way NZ go about their cricket and as is usual with them at World Cups they will be a dangerous side to play against.
VivGilchrist
Roar Rookie
It’s only unacceptable when the Aussie crowds do it.
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
Even after being down your jocks? Eeeeww...
RogerTA
Roar Rookie
Conspiracy to commit can still get you put away in the real world.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
The umpires inspected the ball Bancroft sandpapered and deemed it hadn't been affected enough to change it! CA got carried away and penalised them for thought rather than the actual act.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
While 2019 crowds will only see through recent goggles, David, it isn't lost on cricket fans that from that match Atherton was a tamperer and Hansie Cronje was a match fixer. British crowds don't need much encouragement to sledge Aussie sports people, but they'll be going after Smith & Warner because CA's overreaction made it appear to be the crime of the century, rather than an incident with a long history of ICC sanctioned match bans. Not only Atherton as you mentioned but also England opener Marcus Trescothick, who previously revealed he used mints to shine the ball throughout the 2001 and 2005 Ashes series. While designated 'ball shiner' Trescothick was never penalised he attributed his skill with mint laden saliva for producing the swing that Flintoff, Jones, Hoggard excelled at to make the difference in the home 2005 Ashes against an Australian side they hadn't been able to defeat for a decade and a half. I still contend ball tampering was the main reason behind the designated ball shiner being introduced to on field routines. Why else would bowlers let batsmen take control of the ball? It has not only resulted in a massive upswing with ball tampering, it has resulted in a general deterioration of bowlers understanding how they can naturally care for a ball and take advantage of its attributes by shining it themselves.
AREH
Roar Guru
I think it will be measured and in good taste, still. Warner for one thrives off this stuff - being chirped at will only fuel his desire to go hard at the opposition.
Philip O'Donovan
Guest
It would be somewhat more comfortable down my jocks than sandpaper,and unquestionably more palatable to the taste.