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With just two weeks remaining for the start of the eleventh edition of the IPL, the cricketing world was rocked by the, now infamous, ball tampering scandal. The scandal caused a lot of public outrage in Australia, a country that takes a lot of pride in the game. Past cricketers, experts, media and every single source you can think of, blasted the disgraced trio of Warner, Smith and Bancroft left, right and centre. The ICC did its job and imposed the maximum ban it could, under the prevailing laws, on the players. Now it was the turn of Cricket Australia to announce their verdict. Everyone expected them to impose some heavy sanctions on the players involved and they did not disappoint.

What is ball tampering

Ball tampering basically means altering the condition of the ball, surface or the seam, illegally. This is generally done to make the ball do more than it otherwise would under normal conditions.

This isn’t the first time that someone has been caught trying to change the condition of the ball using a foreign object, and it certainly is not going to be the last. The reason this has caused so much outrage among fans and players alike is Smith’s public admission about the “leadership group” having discussed and being aware of Bancroft’s naive act.

The act

Bancroft used sandpaper to scuff up one side of the ball. This was done so as to make the ball reverse prematurely. Once caught in the act, Bancroft panicked and hid the sandpaper in his underpants, did he think that he was going to get away with it, no way! Clearly the act did not have much effect on the ball as the umpires did not find a need to change it. However, the impact that it has had on the three players involved has been enormous.

The need to tamper with the ball showed clear signs of desperation from the Aussies. Being way behind South Africa in the match and staring at defeat, the Aussies decided to employ unlawful means to force a result their way. The foolishness in the act lies here; they actually thought they could get away by doing this while being covered by around 25 cameras and from all sides of the ground!

Bancroft’s hiding the sandpaper in his under-pants

The Australian way of playing the game

The Australians, since long, have been known as a team that plays tough cricket. Playing tough, to them, didn’t necessarily mean doing so within the spirit of the game. They have not cared much about sportsmanship, spirit of the game, and fair play, all they have cared about is victory. And victory at what cost, for them: at any cost! This attitude has been passed on from one generation to another, all the time being viewed with a lot of exasperation by the general cricketing audience.

Having been caught using unlawful means on national television and later the acceptance by the skipper about having prior knowledge about the same, was when the bubble in which they played their cricket, broke. They became a laughing stock in front of the world. There was outrage among the Australian media and fans worldwide, even the Australian Prime Minister condemned the act. The CA had to take decisive steps to show the world that they would not encourage such acts and they have made some severe sanctions against the three disgraced cricketers.

Who did what

While it was clear all along that David Warner was part of the so-called “leadership group”, the involvement of other cricketers or even coaches for that matter wasn’t known. Now with the verdict out, it has been confirmed beyond any doubt that it was David Warner who was responsible for hatching a plan to tamper with the ball, while Smith had an idea that something was happening but did not do anything to stop it from happening. Bancroft was simply following what Warner had told him to. As for the coaches and the seniors in the team, there has been nothing found against anyone.

Sanctions against the trio

Both Warner and Smith have been slapped with a 1 year ban from both, international as well as domestic cricket. Meanwhile, Bancroft has been suspended for 9 months, again both from international and domestic cricket. In addition to this, Smith and Bancroft will not be considered for captaining any Australian side for a minimum of two years. Warner, having been the brain behind the act, is never to captain Australia again in any form of cricket. In addition to this, all three are also required to serve 100 voluntary hours in community cricket.

In addition to losing their Australia spots, Warner and Smith are all set to miss this edition’s IPL as well. Having been part of their respective franchises for a seriously huge amount of money, the duo are set to lose out on that front as well.

The sanctions imposed by CA has little to do with the act itself and more to do with drawing a line when it comes to winning at all costs. The punishment is definitely severe, but it shows the CA’s intolerance towards such grave mistakes, which should serve the Australian cricket well in future.

Chief Executive, James Sutherland, at the press conference

My take on the whole episode

Let us have a take on the matter from a slightly different perspective. Firstly, the matter took such huge proportions because of Smith’s admission of having prior knowledge about the act. So, instead of tearing into him from the outset, shouldn’t he have been given some credit for having conceded to the fact that he had an idea that something was about to happen.

Make no mistake, it takes a lot of courage, being the captain of the national team and also one of the best batsman in the longest format of the game, to come out and give the statement that he did in the press conference. He could have simply said that the team management would look into Bancroft’s actions once the match gets over. But what Smith did was what a leader should do, by saying this I do not mean to say that the pre-planned tampering of the ball is something that he can be proud of. It sure is a shameful act and should be strongly condemned but Smith took responsibility for the act rather than taking a stand which would not have been convincing enough. Also, by indirectly saying that it wasn’t just Bancroft who was involved in the act, he stood by the youngster. It was later found in CA’s press release that Smith himself did not have the exact knowledge of what was about to happen, but he still chose to shield the youngster by taking the blame along with the “leadership group”.

Smith and Bancroft at the press conference

All along Smith would have known that the repercussions of the statement would be severe. But he chose to be honest about it. Glad that CA have not closed the doors on him leading Australia again after serving his ban.

What Smith could have done differently was, he could have gotten information about whatever was to happen and later using his sense of judgement between right and wrong, decided if tampering with the ball, thereby bringing the game into disrepute, was the way to go ahead to win a game of cricket. Having prior knowledge that something bad was about to happen and not acting on it, seems quite a lousy step by Smith. He will surely be regretting his actions, or rather the lack of it.

Smith has always come across as a very calm and composed character, a very un-Australian like attribute to have particularly for a skipper. He is rarely seen sledging, and even if he does never does he cross the line. Except for the now infamous brain-fade moment, there are not a lot of controversies Smith has been associated with. On the other hand, David Warner has always worn this in-your-face attitude on him. He never was and never will be one to shy away from a confrontation with an opponent. There have been many prior instances of him being in the middle of the heat. The latest one being an altercation with Quinton de Kock on the staircase outside the dressing rooms.

As I have said earlier, ball tampering has been happening and will continue to happen. What needs to be looked at here is, in previous instances of individuals being caught applying foreign objects to the ball, weren’t the captains or the senior members or the leadership group, whatever you want to call them, aware that something was not happening right. For the uninitiated, there are individuals designated to take care of the ball. Everyone surely knows the fundamental laws of cricket, and also know what constitutes ball tampering and what does not. Applying a foreign object is not something that would happen unknowingly and therefore this single instance stands out from the rest. Never previously has a captain in a press conference acknowledged the prior knowledge about something like ball tampering.

While the ball tampering episode is nothing in comparison to match-fixing, the severe ramifications that the trio have had to face is harsh if we take into account only the laws that govern the game. To put another recent case in perspective, du Plessis, was only fined his match fee after he was found guilty of ball tampering by applying saliva from a mint or a lollipop.

A visibly distraught Steve Smith, after the verdict, on his way to the airport

What next for Australia

The Australian cricket needs a complete image make-over. Even Darren Lehmann, their coach, has conceded to this. Having a strong leader who has a great sense of judgement and commands respect within the dressing room is the need of the hour. While Tim Paine has been designated as the skipper for the last test match against South Africa, I don’t see him as a long term leadership candidate.

One  person who pops up to my mind in this situation, is George Bailey. Having led Australia in limited overs cricket and with his huge wealth of experience, it would serve Australia well to have Bailey as their skipper. Bailey has proved his credentials as a leader, having led Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield since a long time. Though he does not have age on his side and has last represented the Australian test side almost 4 years ago, he has got all the attributes necessary to take this team forward and take it forward in the right direction.

He can be the catalyst that the Australian cricket desperately needs. With a calm head on his shoulders and an innocent smile on his face, Bailey can be the perfect role-model for the current crop of youngsters as well as future cricketers. He is more than capable of setting an example that the younger generation would be much glad to follow.

But only time will tell what lies ahead for Australian cricket.

Future that lies ahead for the trio

                    The disgraced trio

With just a single act, Smith and Warner have managed to get their reputations down to dirt. Not sure how long it will be before they make a comeback into the Australian team. Even if they do make a comeback, the consequences of this act should weigh heavily on them for some time to come. But whenever they are back, I hope this episode serves them as a harsh reminder that upholding the spirit of the game is far more important than winning the game.  Bancroft, having had a good start to his career, has seen sudden breaks being applied to it, albeit for a short while. He would do well to act more responsibly in future and not getting influenced by senior team members’ words to carry out unlawful acts.

The players sure have to put your heart and soul into the game, but should also ensure that they never cross the moral and ethical lines that are there to hold it together. At the end of the day, people will remember the players for the way they played the game and not for the the wins and losses that they registered. Michael Hussey has written a wonderful article on the same lines, which you can read here.

Not sure if Smith and Warner are ever going to command the same amount of respect and fan following that they did until recently, but the one thing that we can be sure of is that this is a lesson for everyone who thinks that they can get away by doing wrongful acts on the cricket field.

When the dust on the entire episode settles and when Smith and Warner are sitting on their couches  watching Australia play, on TV, the one thing that they should ask themselves is: what we did, was it worth all this? I am sure the answer will be a big NO.