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

[Bolo]

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/650624

Punishment has been expected, but pretty light.

4 points (the max under the charge) for Smith. No charge of bringing the game into disrepute, a much more serious charge.

Bancroft gets 3 for the ball tampering. No charge for lying to the umpires.

No charge for any of the other players despite admission they are complicit.

No 5 run penalty.

The good news is Smith is penalized more heavily than Bancroft.

Real punishment still to be meted out by CA- the ICC was always going to be kinder than the AUS public.

 

[quincywagstaff]

So that’s 5 Australian players who’ve gotten demerit points of some kind this series; can they reach the half-dozen before this series is out.

What an absolutely rotten 2018 Steve Smith has had; as bad as his 2017 was good.

 

[Victor Ian]

Broad has been given a free hit and smashed a sublime six. Combined with that refusal to walk, that time, he has now overtaken Anderson as my favourite English player.

I'm not convinced that any incident of players 'helping' a ball to reverse swing can be kept to a few players in a team. They would have to practice this and would all be in on the know of what to do. Likewise all coaching would be in the know if they are in any ways half competent in their jobs. You do not just go and 'help' a ball to reverse swing all on your own. You have to keep the whole team informed so they don't undo the 'help' you are administering and this means they are all in on it. For 30 odd years the whole reverse swing thing has been cricket's dirty secret and I think it has been 'allowed' because it is the only thing keeping some semblance of balance between bat and ball in today's batsman friendly conditions and road works. Now the stupid Aussies have ruined the whole thing by going and admitting to it forcing action. All they had do do was just blatantly deny it like everyone else and it would have been swept under the rug.

Will this be the end of reverse swing? I've always suspiciously believed that reverse swing only occurs with some 'help'. In over 100 years of cricket it had never been discovered, while all other things had. Weird?

 

[Victor Ian]

https://www.icc-cricket.com/media-releases/650624

Punishment has been expected, but pretty light.

4 points (the max under the charge) for Smith. No charge of bringing the game into disrepute, a much more serious charge.

Bancroft gets 3 for the ball tampering. No charge for lying to the umpires.

No charge for any of the other players despite admission they are complicit.

No 5 run penalty.

The good news is Smith is penalized more heavily than Bancroft.

Real punishment still to be meted out by CA- the ICC was always going to be kinder than the AUS public.

That's just ****ed! Seriously - that is ****ed. The **** the ICC let people get away with. This deserved banning, not from inner CA pressure, but from the top. Everyone is in on this and the first time they get some real hard evidence, like the players admitting to it, they pull out this kind of crap. Now Australia should hire that guy Rabada got and go appeal it, on the basis of the ICC's precedent of doing nothing, and make a real mockery of it all.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Will this be the end of reverse swing? I've always suspiciously believed that reverse swing only occurs with some 'help'. In over 100 years of cricket it had never been discovered, while all other things had. Weird?

Once the genie is out of the bottle, it doesn't go back in. Every team attempts to do it and certain pitches, conditions demand it.

That being said, it's important to note the distinction between reverse swing and ball tampering. Ball tampering of some degree might be necessary for reverse swing, but it does not ensure reverse swing. I mean the ball was not changed yesterday and Starc went 0/98.

There is a degree of skill involved just like conventional swing.

I expect in a few decades time, ball tampering to a certain degree will be accepted. It won't be called that of course

 

[Victor Ian]

Real punishment still to be meted out by CA- the ICC was always going to be kinder than the AUS public.

This part is the worst part. Trial by public is the worst thing ever. ****ing idiots will get to form a lynch mob rather than use respected professionals.

 

[Victor Ian]

Once the genie is out of the bottle, it doesn't go back in. Every team attempts to do it and certain pitches, conditions demand it.

That being said, it's important to note the distinction between reverse swing and ball tampering. Ball tampering of some degree might be necessary for reverse swing, but it does not ensure reverse swing. I mean the ball was not changed yesterday and Starc went 0/98.

There is a degree of skill involved just like conventional swing.

I expect in a few decades time, ball tampering to a certain degree will be accepted. It won't be called that of course

I'm all for defining acceptable limits for helping the ball do more after it loses it's shine. But they need to define it and enforce it well. I'd hate to see them leave things as they are where they are basically forcing all fast bowlers to 'bend' the rules and be a pack of hypocrytes. The current system is a shambles.

 

[quincywagstaff]

What odds a week ago that Rabada would be free to play the 4th Test and Smith would be the one suspended for it?

 

[harsh.ag]

Fair punishments imo.

Hope nothing more is meted out by CA.

More ridicule from all quarters, sure.

Hopefully this calms down this Aussie side a bit and they stop harping on about nonsense.

 

[stephen]

Honestly I wouldn't mind if there was more official assistance for bowlers. Ball manufacturers could make deliberately unevenly polished balls that are designed to reverse or teams could be allowed to scratch the ball with their nails.

But it has to be an official rule change. Until then it's cheating and Australia does not tolerate cheats. We don't mind period headbutting the line but blatant, premeditated cheating is definitely not on.

 

[Bolo]

This part is the worst part. Trial by public is the worst thing ever. ****ing idiots will get to form a lynch mob rather than use respected professionals.

Professionals in the guise of CA will be the ones to ultimately pass meaningful judgement.

The public has a right to apply pressure for the judgement to be harsh. The team and captain in particular are representative of their country as a whole. The Australian public has a right not to want to be represented by cheats. This isn't a criminal trial in the form of the Pakistani players whereby the public opinion is threatening their freedom. It's not even threatening their livelihoods- CA won't end careers over this, just the captaincy.

 

[StephenZA]

Fair punishments imo.

Hope nothing more is meted out by CA.

More ridicule from all quarters, sure.

Hopefully this calms down this Aussie side a bit and they stop harping on about nonsense.

Only thing that really needs to happen more here is what punishment Lehmann deserves? ICC has been relatively fair on Bancroft and Smith.

 

[Shri]

Look at all the idiots who have come out the woodwork for this thread though. Either leave or stay ****s.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Look at all the idiots who have come out the woodwork for this thread though. Either leave or stay ****s.

gfc

 

[Cabinet96]

One match ban and Smith stays as captain for whatever their next series is seems adequate enough for me tbh.

 

[SeamUp]

Says it like it is Old Henry

Henry Blofeld
‏@blowersh
Smith & Warner should never be allowed to play again. Lehman must go & Bancroft tho he was presumably sucked in & to curry favour went along with it. Like match-fixing, ball tampering is a cancer and those caught, must be completely cut out. Aussie PM’s reaction was spot on.

 

[Victor Ian]

Only thing that really needs to happen more here is what punishment Lehmann deserves? ICC has been relatively fair on Bancroft and Smith.

Never been a big Lehman fan but if this means Longer... I don't know

 

[Victor Ian]

Never been a big Lehman fan but if this means Longer... I don't know

Langer

Duck off auto correct. I'm in a cricket thread. Get your shot together.

 

[ImpatientLime]

Says it like it is Old Henry

Henry Blofeld
‏@blowersh
Smith & Warner should never be allowed to play again. Lehman must go & Bancroft tho he was presumably sucked in & to curry favour went along with it. Like match-fixing, ball tampering is a cancer and those caught, must be completely cut out. Aussie PM’s reaction was spot on.

its absolutely nothing like match fixing you stupid old ****

 

[Victor Ian]

Langer

Duck off auto correct. I'm in a cricket thread. Get your shot together.

And it's ME. I swear a lot. ****!