Baggy Green ball tampering: Bancroft, Smith and the Aussie "Leadership Group"

[SpaceMonkey]

There's surely no way Smith survives this as captain. Not only admitted to cheating in the moment, but also that it was pre-planned? Crazy.

 

[zaremba]

I'm always a bit baffled how in the eyes of Australian cricket stuff like this is the lowest of the low while other forms of cheating like not walking when you know you've nicked the ball are considered generally OK.

TBH I think not walking is much less bad, provided (1) you don't actively pretend you didn't nick it (shaking head etc); (2) you don't whinge when you get a decision you don't like. There's a reasonable case to say you can just stand there and let the umpire do his/her job.

 

[Gnske]

I reckon there's close to zero chance of Smith and Lehmann surviving in their leadership positions and this is because of the flipside of their much-discussed "crossing the line" behaviour beliefs. You only have to see the reaction from numerous message boards/comments sections and the media reaction to see that in the eyes of Australian cricket and its fans, planned ball tampering is one of the lowest acts there is.

Personally speaking, while it's obviously a grave error what Australia did I don't think it's that bad. I'm always a bit baffled how in the eyes of Australian cricket stuff like this is the lowest of the low while other forms of cheating like not walking when you know you've nicked the ball are considered generally OK.
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Well it's not illegal for you not to walk when the umpire doesn't give you out. It's just unseemly.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Hopefully this is the last I see of Warner for a while. Cannot stand the little ****.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah that’s actually a really great point. All the noise about ‘the line’ Is explained away by cultural misunderstanding, everyone else doesn’t get that the Aussies just play hard but fair, you’re all too sensitive, etc. This is crossing a line they themselves have made a huge deal about, one that other countries have probably taken more seriously about policing because of the uncompromising stance on it by the Aussies. No matter how dire the game or series looks, nope, we don’t resort to doing what all the others are doing all the time like the nasty little cheats they are. The hypocracy is incredibly damaging.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Hopefully this is the last I see of Warner for a while. Cannot stand the little ****.

Well he may well end up captain next week.

Surely Smith and Bancroft will be banned for that match at least?

 

[Gnske]

Well he may well end up captain next week.

Surely Smith and Bancroft will be banned for that match at least?

I think it's like three demerit points max you can get for it. So I don't think a ban is on the menu unless CA has the gall to do something on their part.

 

[zaremba]

Well he may well end up captain next week.

Surely Smith and Bancroft will be banned for that match at least?

Isn't DW vice-captain and anyway part of the "leadership group" in question? Hard to see how he gets the captaincy if he's complicit?

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Isn't DW vice-captain and anyway part of the "leadership group" in question? Hard to see how he gets the captaincy if he's complicit?

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

 

[Shri]

The umpires were once again completely ****ing useless. No 5 run penalty?

Don't care about tampering though, **** must be legal.

 

[stephen]

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

Paine IMO.

 

[fredfertang]

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

It'll be back to Bob Simpson again

 

[Top_Cat]

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

Being VC doesn’t mean ‘must be next in line for captaincy’. They may decide they need someone totally clean.

I dunno, Glenn Maxwell anyone?

 

[zaremba]

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

If you sack the captain for offence X, there's no logic in passing the captaincy to the vice-captain who was also guilty of offence X.

Doesn't really matter who else there is. Find someone who wasn't guilty of offence X.

Might have been Smith's strategy in saying "the leadership group but I'm not naming names" - ie I will (sort of) take responsibility but will make it hard for you to sack me.

 

[Gnske]

Paine IMO.

This. Although I find it hard to believe he wasn't also complicit.

 

[morgieb]

Hard to not give it him if Smith gets banned as who else is there?

Might have to fly someone in to be a specialist captain at this point Mike Brearley style.

Failing that, Paine maybe? Surely the QdK incident means that optically Warner couldn't become captain either?

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Might have to fly someone in to be a specialist captain at this point Mike Brearley style.

Failing that, Paine maybe? Surely the QdK incident means that optically Warner couldn't become captain either?

Being stubborn Aussies they probably will give it to Warner or just let Smith carry on.

Not in the spirit of the game to remove him from the job and all that.

 

[morgieb]

I do think Smith can't really survive this incident. While I'm kinda non-plussed over ball tampering as I'm pretty sure every side tries it in every Test in someway, the way they've gone about it is quite brazen TSTL. And also kinda hypocritical given Australia's moralising about "the line" and "hard but fair".

One has to wonder about the Cummins thing. Looked incidental but given this......

Hopefully Lehmann gets the arse too. ****.

 

[Gnske]

Being stubborn Aussies they probably will give it to Warner or just let Smith carry on.

Not in the spirit of the game to remove him from the job and all that.

Smith will continue on tarnished as he is imo. Giving Warner the captaincy now of all times would just be ridiculous.

 

[stephen]

If Bancroft and Smith both cop a one match ban, who do we fly out for the final test?