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

[_Ed_]

it's his first offence

 

[NZTailender]

And the people claiming Smith deserves a life/5 year ban are the same people saying because he was caught once he's done this before as well.

The situations are nothing alike but keep clutching at straws, man.

 

[outbreak]

The situations are nothing alike but keep clutching at straws, man.

Not sure what straws you think I'm clutching at?

That guy wants life/5 year bans for people who cheat otherwise he is saying we should just acknowledge cheating is ok, I'm simply asking then should his own team have retroactive punishment for admitting to cheating? Should other players who've been found guilty of match fixing like Faf be held more accountable? Or is he just so up in arms because he doesn't like Australia and how arrogant and obnoxious our team has been recently and is over reacting?

The situations are alike in that both cheated which is what that poster has an issue with and things we should hardline against.

If you think this incident deserves a life/5 year ban when everyone else caught of the same offence gets 1-2 matches and a fine please explain why this is so different? Personally as I've said before I think ball tampering needs a higher punishment and something like 1 year bans isn't that out of line but no one else has gotten that and their laws don't support that so why would they suddenly introduce that now?

 

[howardj]

"Coach Darren Lehmann is also increasingly in the gun amid speculation he not only knew what was taking place on the field, but may have been part of the decision making process".

Link

 

[Larwood's_boots]

"Coach Darren Lehmann is also increasingly in the gun amid speculation he not only knew what was taking place on the field, but may have been part of the decision making process".

Link

OF COURSE HE F*****G IS!

But if the players keep mum, which seems to be the policy, then what is going to act as the smoking gun?

 

[outbreak]

OF COURSE HE F*****G IS!

But if the players keep mum, which seems to be the policy, then what is going to act as the smoking gun?

They need to clear all the leadership, this incident shouldn't be the only thing they bring up in these investigations the team has been on a big downward slide when it's come to how they've acted in recent years. It's gone from the older tough but fair type attitude that they used to try and portray to just pettiness, arrogance and breaking rules. Do they need a smoking gun to fire Lehmann over this?

 

[Athlai]

"Coach Darren Lehmann is also increasingly in the gun amid speculation he not only knew what was taking place on the field, but may have been part of the decision making process".

Link

How high does this thing go? Next we'll find out that the Russians were involved.

 

[howardj]

They need to clear all the leadership, this incident shouldn't be the only thing they bring up in these investigations the team has been on a big downward slide when it's come to how they've acted in recent years. It's gone from the older tough but fair type attitude that they used to try and portray to just pettiness, arrogance and breaking rules. Do they need a smoking gun to fire Lehmann over this?

Good point

I think the cultural decay that he's presided over, and which has ultimately lead to this, could of itself imperil his job

I also think that with the broadcast rights currently up for sale, CA will want to be seen to be taking strong action and that there's a fresh start

 

[Larwood's_boots]

How high does this thing go? Next we'll find out that the Russians were involved.

Cameron Bancroft/Jared Kushner analogy might not be totally out of place.

 

[Larwood's_boots]

They need to clear all the leadership, this incident shouldn't be the only thing they bring up in these investigations the team has been on a big downward slide when it's come to how they've acted in recent years. It's gone from the older tough but fair type attitude that they used to try and portray to just pettiness, arrogance and breaking rules. Do they need a smoking gun to fire Lehmann over this?

They shouldn't do, but you never know.

 

[the big bambino]

Not sure what straws you think I'm clutching at?

That guy wants life/5 year bans for people who cheat otherwise he is saying we should just acknowledge cheating is ok, I'm simply asking then should his own team have retroactive punishment for admitting to cheating? Should other players who've been found guilty of match fixing like Faf be held more accountable? Or is he just so up in arms because he doesn't like Australia and how arrogant and obnoxious our team has been recently and is over reacting?

The situations are alike in that both cheated which is what that poster has an issue with and things we should hardline against.

If you think this incident deserves a life/5 year ban when everyone else caught of the same offence gets 1-2 matches and a fine please explain why this is so different? Personally as I've said before I think ball tampering needs a higher punishment and something like 1 year bans isn't that out of line but no one else has gotten that and their laws don't support that so why would they suddenly introduce that now?

This is exactly the only point of distinction for some.

 

[TheJediBrah]

That said, my guess is such is the public backlash and the premeditation, CA may charge Smith etc. with 'bringing the game into disrepute' which actually does carry a maximum lifetime ban (under CA codes of conduct)

However, Smith would argue things like:

- the actual act of ball tampering is only level 2
- it's his first offence etc.

So yeah, while I can see them being banned for some months perhaps by CA, it's won't be too lengthy

The whole thing has been turned into a media farce that is actually having an impact it really shouldn't. He's been banned for a match and fined 100% of his match fee, which is already a far harsher punishment than anyone else who's been caught doing before has gotten, and those people denied it rather than being honest about it. Don't you usually get a less harsh sentence for "pleading guilty" as it were?

I don't think the punishment is too harsh tbh, we need a wake up call, but people claiming that the punishment is too lenient (despite being harsher than those charged before) need their heads examined.

 

[TheJediBrah]

They need to clear all the leadership, this incident shouldn't be the only thing they bring up in these investigations the team has been on a big downward slide when it's come to how they've acted in recent years. It's gone from the older tough but fair type attitude that they used to try and portray to just pettiness, arrogance and breaking rules. Do they need a smoking gun to fire Lehmann over this?

I agree 100% These Australians have been carrying on for years now and they need a clear out. I miss the old days where, sure we may have sledged a bit, but we genuinely had a moral high ground to stand on. Now our team is trying to claim it when they are no better, in some cases even worse, than everyone else.

The Warner sledging **** annoyed me far more than this ball tampering controversy. That was pathetic, you're a grown man and you need to be able to take it like a man. Clearly the reaction to this whole ball-tampering thing has been blown out of all sensible proportions but if it leads to a general change in culture then it will be worthwhile IMO.

 

[cnerd123]

This is ten percent outrage
Twenty percent soul
Fifteen percent concentrated power of trolls
Five percent pain
Fifty percent pleasure
And a hundred percent moment in time to treasure

 

[howardj]

The whole thing has been turned into a media farce that is actually having an impact it really shouldn't. He's been banned for a match and fined 100% of his match fee, which is already a far harsher punishment than anyone else who's been caught doing before has gotten, and those people denied it rather than being honest about it. Don't you usually get a less harsh sentence for "pleading guilty" as it were?

I don't think the punishment is too harsh tbh, we need a wake up call, but people claiming that the punishment is too lenient (despite being harsher than those charged before) need their heads examined.

Yeah, I think one of the problems is that the non-cricket media and the general public who have only a passing interest in cricket have got hold of it, and don't really understand where ball tampering sits in the overall cricketing landscape.

While ball tampering is bad, it's not as absolutely outrageous as the non-cricketing media and the unwashed haha general public think.

 

[Spark]

Yeah, I think one of the problems is that the non-cricket media and the general public who have only a passing interest in cricket have got hold of it, and don't really understand where ball tampering sits in the overall cricketing landscape.

While ball tampering is bad, it's not as absolutely outrageous as the non-cricketing media and the unwashed haha general public think.

The media reaction has been over-the-top by orders of magnitude tbh. It really isn't that important.

 

[MagicPoopShovel]

If/when Smith loses the captaincy, it does set up a hell of a redemption story in the long run.

Fast forward to 2028. Smith, nearing 40, has been facing rumours about retirement. He's the elder statesman of the batting unit. He can't take part in leadership roles, but can still score truckloads of runs. He's closing in on 20k Test runs.

Australia are on tour. Their captain Alex Carey has just emotionally quit after an embarrassing defeat in the 1st Test of an overseas tour, after a string of bad losses and mounting pressure. He was the 7th captain to be tried after infamous 2018 series in South Africa. Some ask for their most successful captain, Adam Zampa, to be reinstated, given his undefeated record in his solitary two Tests ever played (both as captain), two rain affected draws vs Sri Lanka.

However, public opinion has finally shifted. Smith is talked about as taking up the role after years staying out of the limelight. He's a born again Christian, a tutor of underprivileged kids at the Cameron Burge School of Kids Who Can't Cricket Good and Want To Do Good At Other Sports, Redfern. He's teetotal and writes a weekly column about gardening and DIY. In Australia's hour of need, in a foreign land, he's the man they need, though not the one they deserve.

He reluctantly takes up the captaincy, much to the disappointment of spinner-turned-opener, Ashton Turner, the other elder statesman in the side.

With 100 runs to reach 20,000 runs, Smith gets a disappointing duck in his first dig as Australia end up 100 runs behind. After an inspirational talk from Shane Warne's digital avatar, Smith bowls himself and picks up 8fer, then plays an inspirational rearguard with Australia's number 11, Brad Hogg Jnr in just his 3rd game (and Australia's first spinner to play more than 2 Tests since Lyon's retirement). As Smith hits the winnings runs, and coincidentally, brings up his 100 and 20k runs, tears run down his cheeks as he waves his 25kg Burger McKentucky Fried King bat to the crowd, as the disgrace and shame of the South Africa series is forgiven by the Australian public at large.Tears roll down Davey Warner's cheeks, too, as he watches at home on his 300" B-LED TV (made from the eyes of bees for highest resolution possible). Warner looks over at a faded photo of Darren Lehmann stuck to his wall with yellow tape and mutters "we did it, Boof, we did it. Rest in peace."

Australia celebrate their first away win in 5 years, drawing the series, and their first ever win over Afghanistan, which brings them to #17 in the ICC Test Rankings.

I would pay for the Shane Warne digital avatar technology. Hopefully you can just do in-app purchases and download who ever you want to give you a quick pep talk. I presume SRW's one is some sort of VR tech where you feel like you are in the trenches in Gallipoli with him wearing a baggy green.

 

[outbreak]

The media reaction has been over-the-top by orders of magnitude tbh. It really isn't that important.

Like this?

David Warner and Steve Smith trapped 'inside a bubble' of fast cars and multi-million dollar wages | Daily Mail Online

and this

Steve Smith and David Warner are facing life bans over ball tampering scandal | Daily Mail Online

Some of these articles are hilarious.

 

[howardj]

Like this?

David Warner and Steve Smith trapped 'inside a bubble' of fast cars and multi-million dollar wages | Daily Mail Online

and this

Steve Smith and David Warner are facing life bans over ball tampering scandal | Daily Mail Online

Some of these articles are hilarious.

'He [Smith] will lose it all, everything. And I doubt whether he will ever play cricket for Australia again. It is dreadful,' celebrity agent Max Markson told the Today show.

 

[the big bambino]

I have an idea of just how stupid CA is. Just waiting to see if they ban Warner and Smith for life and whether I've overestimated them.