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

[shifty_eyes]

You’re kidding aren’t you? India the greatest dummy spitters in world cricket. They get a ****** chai latte at the hotel and threaten to go home. Jog on.

We are yet to learn how to play hard and fair

 

[Larwood's_boots]

Watched test cricket in the mid 00s in India. A lot of tests were on dead tracks like Ahmedabad where tests often had 800 and 600 run innings. Outfields were lush too so there was no reverse and no turn either, along with no pace or bounce or seam off the pitch. Ball tampering would have been the only way to make the ball do anything and most sides didn't. On pitches like that at least, ball tampering should be legal.

Like I say, I'd rather see that kind of pitch cracked down on instead of getting rid of a rule that's been around for as long as the game.

 

[GotSpin]

There's a big school of thought that says that the prohibition against ball tampering is just one of the many things which tilts the overall balance between bat and ball in the favour of the batsman.

Yeah I'm pretty sure there was a big discussion about ball tampering a while ago

I'm not really against it per se. Dont think it should be legal mind you

 

[shifty_eyes]

2001 tour of South Africa to d'd.

Yep worse.

 

[Spark]

Yeah I'm pretty sure there was a big discussion about ball tampering a while ago

I'm not really against it per se. Dont think it should be legal mind you

I think "legalised" is the wrong term. Just a less restrictive approach as to what is considered "tampering".

 

[Larwood's_boots]

Yeah I'm pretty sure there was a big discussion about ball tampering a while ago

I'm not really against it per se. Dont think it should be legal mind you

Mentioned this earlier in the thread but there's different levels as well- bringing something onto the pitch with the premeditated intent to mess with the ball seems a lot worse to me than garden variety dirt or saliva.

 

[Red]

I'll admit to finding this news this morning deadset ****ing hilarious, the amount of times over the years these pious supporters have pointed the finger and thrown accusations at everyone else whilst seriously believing their own team are the only honest, genuine players to take to a cricket field.........we'll what can you do now but to LOL at them?

I'll defend Australia's record of integrity because I believe overall we have seen very little of this.

And I'm now highly critical of what's happened here.

 

[Shri]

Like I say, I'd rather see that kind of pitch cracked down on instead of getting rid of a rule that's been around for as long as the game.

Umpires used to have the final say but we now have DRS. It brings balance. Legal tampering will bring balance too if its the same for everyone. I have always just thought that tradition is overrated.

 

[vandem]

Pat Howard on his way.. all will be fine

Don't know what this will do. CA have already decided that Smith is staying as captain, and that they will out-last the social media and press backlash. There was an hour between end of play and the press conference, will have been some calls to CA leadership back in Aust.

 

[Shri]

I think "legalised" is the wrong term. Just a less restrictive approach as to what is considered "tampering".

Yeah this might be less radical than I what I suggested and I can get behind this too if I can't get legalized tampering.

 

[Larwood's_boots]

Umpires used to have the final say but we now have DRS. It brings balance. Legal tampering will bring balance too if its the same for everyone. I have always just thought that tradition is overrated.

They fetishize tradition a lot more in England for sure, so I might be biased in that way. I guess it's just always seemed to me like a sensible rule that both teams should be facing the same version of the ball over an innings.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Burgey caught a lot of fish today

 

[shifty_eyes]

Umpires used to have the final say but we now have DRS. It brings balance. Legal tampering will bring balance too if its the same for everyone. I have always just thought that tradition is overrated.

The possibilities of legal tempering are endless.

 

[Shri]

Who is this guy?

 

[nzfan]

Some "hot take" thoughts:

1. No-one is innocent. Check your own team's record before piling in. If you're a Pakistan fan feeling this somehow vindicates you, it doesn't - don't make me post video of various of your players digging their nails into the ball in 1992. And by the same token, I'm well aware of Atherton cheating in 1994.

This isn't going to go down as a popular opinion but anyone that has played first class cricket or have been involved with first class cricket surely knows the ball tampering is rampant and every player knows about it generally. They just don't care. There are no TV crew so doesn't get picked up much and the umpires aren't all that experienced to pick it up as well. If you know any first class cricketers please ask them they will tell you about it.

International cricket though is a different ball game. That is where you don't mess around with the ball, can get away once or twice but you eventually get nailed. I can only think this has been going on for a bit and they finally got caught unfortunately for Aussies.

 

[Larwood's_boots]

The possibilities of legal tempering are endless.

With you- it's a bit like the "Lance had to get on the roids because everyone else was," then cycling just became about who could get the best dope.

Gonna wind up turning test cricket into a contest of 'who can smuggle the most random destructive stuff onto the field'

 

[Athlai]

Smith should both be stripped of the captaincy and cop a ban of decent length, and Bancroft should maybe miss a game too.

 

[Larwood's_boots]

Smith should both be stripped of the captaincy and cop a ban of decent length, and Bancroft should maybe miss a game too.

Got tickets to see Australia play England at the oval and the warm up game at Sussex in June, I'll be annoyed to see either of these chumps anywhere near the field.

 

[Spark]

With you- it's a bit like the "Lance had to get on the roids because everyone else was," then cycling just became about who could get the best dope.

Gonna wind up turning test cricket into a contest of 'who can smuggle the most random destructive stuff onto the field'

I mean, cycling definitely has a "legal tampering" system in place (hello, TUEs) which still rules out what Armstrong, Landis did.

 

[Larwood's_boots]

I mean, cycling definitely has a "legal tampering" system in place (hello, TUEs) which still rules out what Armstrong, Landis did.

You get my point though- if you say it's a level playing field for bending the rules then it just becomes about who can bend them the most efficiently. I'd rather see the extremeness of this incident as a chance to crack down on tampering in all it's form.