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Ball-tampering: Steve Smith suspended for a Test, Cameron Bancroft handed 3 demerit pts [Update#677]

IndianFan2018 said:
Is it Fair enough..?

Don't you think ICC is setting the precedent for future captains if stakes are high can risk cheating and if caught can get away with 1 or 2 match bans :smith

If few are caught doing the same mistake earlier...doesn't imply should allow the same in future too.

ICC can always take hard stand to remove this ball tampering malice all together. Like ICC successfully clamped down chucking and shown the door to all certified checkers :19:
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Which is fine if it's across the board.

I'm not a fan of overreaching suspensions/removals as a show of power. The ICC should be the one declaring (upon approval by all boards) that any form of ball tampering means the captain cannot lead his country ever again.
 
Australia captain Steve Smith must be immediately removed from his role over the ball-tampering row in South Africa, an Australian government agency says.

Smith said on Saturday that the team's "leadership group" had spoken about a plan to tamper with the ball, carried out by batsman Cameron Bancroft.

The Australian Sports Commission has now called for Smith "to be stood down immediately, along with any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness of, or involvement in, the plan".

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/43530908
 
kingusama92 said:
Which is fine if it's across the board.

I'm not a fan of overreaching suspensions/removals as a show of power. The ICC should be the one declaring (upon approval by all boards) that any form of ball tampering means the captain cannot lead his country ever again.
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Cricket Australia absolutely has the right to decide who is national Captain.

The ICC can sod off if they want to dispute this.
 
Convict said:
Cricket Australia absolutely has the right to decide who is national Captain.

The ICC can sod off if they want to dispute this.
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I have no issues with the ACB's rights.

I have issues with the implementation of those rights especially when they've let fixers lead the team before.
 
kingusama92 said:
I have no issues with the ACB's rights.

I have issues with the implementation of those rights especially when they've let fixers lead the team before.
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Just because something happened in the past doesn't mean you have to be soft now.

Nobody in Australian cricket wants Smith as Captain anymore.

If we can sack Ponting for losing a home Ashes series why can't we sack Smith for cheating?
 
KingKhanWC said:
Of course they do.

When Afridi bit the ball or when Tendulkar tampered with it, do you really believe in those two incidents others were aware what was about to happen?
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Tendulkar didnot tamper the ball. That was the icc decision like it was in case of Inzy and team.
 
Ab Fan said:
Smith has been made to look like a fool from this whole incident. Given how things are folding, it seems Aussies will go into another transition phase under their new leader and it will be seen how much this incident affects Smith's batting after he comes back from a few test ban(if it happens).

Meanwhile, the fun of whole series is spoiled. Fair to say the rest of the series is just a formality now. SA has it in the bag.
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Big mistake done by CA was when Kolhi clearely blown the cover of Dressing Gate Review system by 'AUS Leadership Group' last year, CA didn't act sternly.

This Sandpaper Gate incident along with irreversible national embarassment could have been avoided by CA!

Appreciate BCCI in such incidents, they really take stern action by banning players forever unofficially :srini
 
Australian government calls for Steven Smith to be removed as captain

Hours after Cricket Australia said it would investigate the actions of the Australian team's leadership in relation to the ball-tampering confession in the Cape Town Test, the Australian government has asked the board to remove Steven Smith as captain.

The country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has also called the incident a "shocking disappointment". "We all work up this morning shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa," Turnbull said. "It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating.

"I've spoken with David Peever, the Chairman of Cricket Australia, a few moments ago and I've expressed to him very clearly and unequivocally my disappointment and my concern about the events in South Africa.

"It's their responsibility to deal with it, but I have to say that (to) the whole nation, who holds those who wear the Baggy Green up on a pedestal, about as high as you can get in Australia this is a shocking disappointment. It's wrong, and I look forward to Cricket Australia taking decisive action soon."

The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) Chair John Wylie, the ASC Board, and CEO Kate Palmer - essentially speaking for the Australian government - called for severe action against the team. "The ASC condemns cheating of any form in sport," it said in a statement. "The ASC expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country.

"Given the admission by Australian captain Steve Smith, the ASC calls for him to be stood down immediately by Cricket Australia, along with any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness of, or involvement in, the plan to tamper with the ball. This can occur while Cricket Australia completes a full investigation."

The government's point of view emerged shortly after CA chief executive James Sutherland had said the board would investigate the ball tampering affair and take further action against the national team beyond the ICC charge accepted by Cameron Bancroft.

With the CA chairman David Peever in transit home from South Africa, Sutherland chose not to travel to see the team himself, instead delegating the matter to the head of integrity, Iain Roy, and the team performance manager Pat Howard. The initiation of this "process" left Sutherland unable to offer anything beyond the conditional endorsement of Steven Smith as "current" captain of the national team.

Sutherland and Howard were central to the sacking of Mickey Arthur, predecessor to the current coach Darren Lehmann, ahead of the 2013 Ashes series.

"This morning [Australian cricket fans] have every reason to wake up and not be proud of the Australian team. It's a sad day for Australian cricket," Sutherland said in Melbourne. "Activities on the field yesterday in Cape Town are neither within the Laws of the game or within the spirit of the game. For us at Cricket Australia that's extremely disappointing but more importantly it's extremely disappointing for Australian cricket fans.

The leadership group knew about the tampering - Smith

The leadership group knew about the tampering - Smith
Australia captain Steven Smith owns up to ball-tampering on the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa

"That isn't the end of it and can't be the end of it. We have a responsibility to take this further and to understand more about the issue. We will over the next couple of days get a deep understanding of what happened and why and to that end I've asked our head of integrity Iain Roy to travel to South Africa today, Pat Howard will also go with him. Iain's brief will be to gather the relevant information we need to understand the matter better.

"I understand that isn't the fullness of response that everyone is looking for right now but you will appreciate there is an element of process that needs to be undertaken. It is being dealt with as a matter of urgency and seriousness. It will be dealt with promptly."

Sutherland, who has been chief executive since 2001, revealed he was yet to speak to Smith about events at Newlands, where the Australians admitted to knowingly cheating by way of a ball tampering attempt in South Africa's second innings.

"I haven't spoken to Steve Smith... but he will know. In recent times I've had the need to speak to Steve about the behaviour of the team," Sutherland said in reference to the first Test of the current series in Durban. "I have very strong views on the responsibility of the Australian team and no one will be under any illusions to what I think about this.

"We are extremely disappointed and shocked to what we woke up to this morning and we are dealing with this issue with the utmost urgency and seriousness. Steve Smith is currently the captain of the Australian team. We are working through a process and once we have a clearer picture of the facts then we'll be able to make further comment.

"Our responsibility right now is to understand the facts and respond accordingly. I want to reiterate that we are dealing with this matter with appropriate urgency. I said right from the outset that I am shocked and extremely disappointed. This is a very sad day. I'm not happy about this at all."

Despite the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft already informing the Australians of a ball tampering charge against Bancroft, Sutherland said Roy's investigation would home in on the team issues at hand.

"We need someone to go over there and talk to the relevant people and understand the detail and then we'll make appropriate decisions on the next steps," Sutherland said. "We are in the middle of a game and that game needs to conclude but in course of next couple of days we'll get to the bottom of this.

"I'm not going to speculate on who is involved. We have to understand from the action of the umpires and the press conference. But we need to have those discussions."
 
I think we need to establish ground for the final decision with regards to cases which are similar to Smith's. Which factors should influence the extent of punishment in such cases?

One question would be if past judgements on similar crimes should influence the final decision?

I personally think they shouldnt influence the new decisions in a huge way. We need to evolve and We should take every case individually. However we should keep in mind the effectiveness of the previous judgements. If previous punishments didnt help in curbing a particular menace, it would only be right to try a different method or intensify the punishment.

Another question is whether cheating is a lesser offence compared to corruption?

Historically it has been viewed as a lesser offence compared to throwing matches or even lesser forms of corruption like spot fixing (bowling no balls, wides, playing maidens etc.). I think its time to rethink about it.

As the competitive nature of players has intensified in the modern era with more money coming into the game itself, chances of corruption have reduced while chances of cheating have increased. This can be gauged from the fact that even 100s of cameras on the ground dont deter some players from making use of unfair means to get advantages in the field of play. The attitude that cheating to win is not as serious as corruption is also going to bring the game into disrepute.

I hope sanity prevails and the concerned authorities make the correct judgement by taking cognizance of the changing dynamics of the game as well as attitudes and mindsets of players.
 
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angrypathan said:
Well that all but confirms Smith losing his captaincy. What a way to ruin your legacy
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Ozzie's took too egoistic approach to win at all cost, looks like David Warner :warner incident has unfortunately clouded the thinking of 'AUS Leadership Group' :sree
 
Smith may apply for Pakistani citizenship as we respect tainted players, hand them PSL captaincy and also lobbying for them for national captaincy.
 
I underestimated the reaction of Australian public, and didn't expect the Australian PM to be affected by this incident. There will definitely be repercussions now.
 
fawad_wellwisher said:
CA have the media and the public behind them to deal with those involved with an iron fist. :najam
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[MENTION=132373]Convict[/MENTION] is right. These blokes are getting roasted on every Facebook page, media outlet I see, as well as privately in any WhatsApp discussion I've got with my mates about cricket. I suppose you could find some if you looked hard but I see overwhelmingly no sympathy for them anywhere.

Most Aussies will agree with sledging (just how it's played over here) but the term, "hard but fair" is usually how Aussies think our cricket is best played. Nothing fair about this.
 
kingusama92 said:
Those are Level 4 charges.

Although, Australia has already shown it takes on captains with Level 4 charges (Waugh/Warne)!
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This situation is completely different to anything that has happened in Australian cricket for a long time.

It isn’t just the “Level X ICC Offence” that is the issue here, it is all of the additional context - the premeditated and collective leadership team effort to cheat; the fact that they consciously discussed it first, being behind in the game and deciding that their preferred way out of this scenario was to cheat; getting a junior player to do the dirty work of the senior players; implementing their strategy with a pre-prepared alteration tool (possibly sandpaper?), concealing it from view, and then quickly trying to hide the evidence when they realised that they had been caught; the knowledge that the consequences of such a plan would be to bring their integrity into question as well as the integrity and spirit of cricket, but after weighing up the pros and cons, going ahead and doing it anyway. Changing the condition of the ball is merely incidental to the premeditated behaviour, which was to cheat.

The ball tampering and alleged breach of ICC code 568.42 is one thing, but arguably bringing the sport into disrepute is another matter altogether!

The typically limp global governing body can do whatever they want with this, but the punishments dished out by CA themselves will be far more severe.
 
Australian Spots Commission, Aussie PM all have reacted and expressed their disappointment to this.
Right from the time Smith admitted it and how Australian cricket administration and fans (most) reacted to it, has earned my respect.
 
I am one of those that want the leadership group involved sacked what I want to know is will the Indians who have done this before do the same if Indians leadershiip group did something like this?

Kohli is a brillant player but he gets away with a lot on the cricket field and Indians always seem to back him.
 
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Mamba Red said:
I am one of those that want the leadership group involved sacked what I want to know is will the Indians who have done this before do the same if Indians leadershiip group did something like this?

Kohli is a brillant player but he gets away with a lot on the cricket field and Indians always seem to back him.
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Difference is Kohli or India never did Dressing Room Review or Sandpaper Gate like cheatings with systematic pre-planned blatant things in a cricket match bro :facepalm:
 
Oligochaetes said:
I underestimated the reaction of Australian public, and didn't expect the Australian PM to be affected by this incident. There will definitely be repercussions now.
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This is organised systemic well planned out cheating. Not a one off incident involving one person.
 
As a professional, when you are caught cheating, you always get bans in sport.

Sharapova and Armstrong incidents come to mind.

It doesnt matter who killed whom in what era.

A murderer who gets caught is the one who gets punished. Not the one who kills 10 people but remains uncaught.

Its simple law.

Smith and Lehmann are gone.

Bancroft banned for a while.

Dont know what is worse. Australia losing to Bangladesh or further going down in integrity after this incident.
 
Smith and Warner have stood down as captain and vice captain respectively for the remainder of this test. Paine to captain.
 
Bancroft saying he was at wrong place at the wrong time makes him look even more ridiculous.
 
Convict said:
Its pretty obvious that Smith is covering for Lehmann just as he is (at least I can respect him for this) covering for Bancroft.
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Smith basically dragged almost every senior player in the team under the bus with him and Bancroft. Kudos to covering for Bancroft, but he might have caused some serious damage to Warner and Shaun Marsh's career in the process too.
 
Usman Chadda said:
Smith basically dragged almost every senior player in the team under the bus with him and Bancroft. Kudos to covering for Bancroft, but he might have caused some serious damage to Warner and Shaun Marsh's career in the process too.
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Shaun Marsh isn't in the leadership group.

Warner is apparently also complicit in this so can't complain too much.
 
Usman Chadda said:
If Marsh isn't part of the leadership group, why has he been overlooked for interim captaincy?
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Because Shaun Marsh has never been considered a leader at any level of the game?
Why did Western Australia go for two blokes a decade younger than him to replace Voges?
 
i suppose this rules Smith out of the debate of who will go on to become the best batsmen, between Smith, Root, Kohli and Williamson
 
Convict said:
Because Shaun Marsh has never been considered a leader at any level of the game?
Why did Western Australia go for two blokes a decade younger than him to replace Voges?
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Who do you think will take over as a long-term captain?
 
Nasser Hussain has criticised Australia for a "blatant attempt to ball tamper" on day three of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Cameron Bancroft has been charged with ball tampering following the close of play, after television footage just before the tea interval appeared to show him using a foreign object on the ball, trying to rough up one side of the ball with a small piece of yellow material taken from his right hip pocket. Captain Steve Smith has also since come out and said that the "leadership group knew about it".

Bancroft was also seen putting the small object into his underwear in an apparent attempt to hide it after seemingly receiving instructions from head coach Darren Lehmann via 12th man Peter Hanscomb.

"It does not look good for the image of the game," said Hussain. "It looks terrible, a premeditated move to get reverse swing and a blatant attempt to ball tamper.

"It doesn't look like it was just a brain fade. This looks more premeditated.

"I take you back to Michael Atherton, all those years ago, with dirt in his pocket. He had a brain fade, deciding to suddenly sprinkle a bit of dirt on the ball and gets done for it.

"But you don't just happen to have a bit of sandpaper, or whatever that yellow object was, in your pocket.

"Then, when Bancroft is caught, he seemingly gets the message sent down to hide it down his pants. And he shows the umpires his sunglasses case."

English umpires Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong walked over to talk to Bancroft at the time, but allowed play to continue at the time with no change to the ball.

Bancroft has since been charged and, by the laws of the game, changing the condition of the ball is a Level 2 offence, with the imposition of a fine of between 50-100% of the applicable match fee and/or up to two suspension points.

It is another flashpoint in a contentious series, which has also seen David Warner and Quinton de Kock charged for an altercation in the first Test and Kagiso Rabada briefly suspended for a 'shoulder barge' on Smith in the second Test before that was overturned on appeal.

"The Australian camp has been lecturing people over the last few months on how the game should be played, and a line that shouldn't be crossed. Well, it looks like that Australian hierarchy are on the wrong side of the line here," added Hussain.

"It has gone too far. Some of the stuff that has come out of the Australian camp, especially, has been laughable.

"Warner has gone round the world sledging people. He then gets it back from De Kock, and he and the Australian camp suddenly decide that a line has been crossed. I don't know who the Australians are to tell you what that line is and who has crossed that line.

Australian batsman David Warner was stopped in his tracks by a comment from a fan after being dismissed in the third Test
"It has bubbled up again in the last couple of days, because Warner got it badly, terribly from the South African crowd - I don't agree with any of this - and again Lehmann thinks another line has been crossed.

"You can't do that. Here is a coach that, in 2013, stated that every Australian fan should send Stuart Broad home crying and should sledge him. Now he is saying crowds shouldn't sledge. There seem to be double standards.

"It's not needed. Just macho rubbish and it makes me cross. Just play your cricket and let bat or ball do the talking."

http://www.skysports.com/cricket/ne...ing-terrible-for-the-game-says-nasser-hussain
 
Is it just me or Is Stuart Broad hinting at something?

While Broad said that it was not something that people wanted to see in cricket he was also surprised that Australia had needed to alter the condition of the ball after getting it to reverse swing consistently during the recent Ashes series which England lost 4-0.

"I saw Steve Smith in his press conference said it was the first time they've tried it, which to me, seems really surprising, why they'd change a method that's been working," said Broad on Sunday (March 25).

"Look at the Ashes series that we've just played. You look through virtually all of those test matches and they reverse swung the ball, in, sometimes, conditions that you wouldn't expect the ball to reverse, so I don't understand why they've changed their method for this one game."
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

“We all work up this morning shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa.

“It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating.

“After all, our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play.

“How can our team be engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief.

“I’ve spoken with David Peever, the Chairman of Cricket Australia, a few moments ago and I’ve expressed to him very clearly and unequivocally my disappointment and my concern about the events in South Africa.

“He has said to me that Cricket Australia will be responding decisively, as they should.

“It’s their responsibility to deal with it, but I have to say that (to) the whole nation, who holds those who wear the Baggy Green up on a pedestal, about as high as you can get in Australia … this is a shocking disappointment.

“It’s wrong, and I look forward to Cricket Australia taking decisive action soon.”


https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ste...christ-allan-border-prime-minister/2018-03-25
 
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South African crowd on Sunday jeered Australia when stand-in captain Tim Paine led the team out at the start of play on Day 4 in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal. Paine was made captain for the rest of the third Test at Newlands after regular captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner stepped down following Saturday's revelations. Although all tickets for the day had been sold, the ground was only about a third full at the start of play. Some boos could be heard but a loud public address system was played until the Australians had taken their places on the field.

Former Australia captain Allan Border said in SuperSport television's build-up to the day's play that he was "angry and embarrassed" by Saturday's events.

Australian leg-spinning great Shane Warne also spoke of his ire.

"I am disappointed in Steve Smith as captain to take that decision to go out and try to do this."

He said the actions were "un-Australian" and opened the team up to criticism from around the world.

Smith had admitted following Saturday's third day action that he had masterminded an attempt by Cameron Bancroft to alter the condition of the ball in the outfield using a yellow object.

"The leadership group knew about it," Smith said. "I'm not proud of what happened."

Former South African captain Graeme Smith said the current team was unlike previous Australian outfits he had encountered, pointing to a move from before the tour to try to get South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada banned.

"That's not Australia for me," said Smith, who criticised what he described as "whingeing" about the behaviour of South African spectators and Steve Smith's anger that Rabada had been reprieved despite being banned after reaching a demerit point threshold.

Shaun Pollock, another former South African captain, said the Australians would have to face the consequences of their actions.

"It was pre-meditated and they've been caught. They have been shown to cheat," he said.
South Africa started Sunday's fourth day with a 294-run lead and five wickets remaining in their second innings.

https://amp.sports.ndtv.com/cricket...8407?akamai-rum=off&__twitter_impression=true
 
They are engaged in systemic cheating as a policy of the "leadership group". This needs more thorough investigation
 
A message from James Sutherland

To our Australian Cricket Fans,

We are sorry.

We are sorry that you had to wake up this morning to news from South Africa that our Australian Men’s Cricket team and our Captain admitted to conduct that is outside both the Laws of our game and the Spirit of Cricket.

This behaviour calls into question the integrity of the team and Cricket Australia.

Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner they have agreed to stand down as Captain and Vice-Captain respectively for the remainder of this Test match.

As I said at a media conference earlier today, Cricket Australia and Australian cricket fans expect high standards from cricketers representing our country, and on this occasion these standards have not been met.

We know how you feel and have heard your feedback loud and clear. We share your anger and disappointment.

As you would be aware, we have launched an immediate investigation into what transpired in Cape Town, and our Head of Integrity is travelling to South Africa as we speak.

All Australians, like us, want answers and we will keep you updated on our findings, as a matter of urgency.
 
Convict said:
For anyone who cares this is what I believe should be happening independent of whatever ICC does which will be its usual weak hand waving.

Lehmann should be immediately dismissed.
Smith and Warner should be removed from their leadership positions and never be considered for a leadership spot again.
Smith and Warner should be suspended for the next test and for a reasonable amount of times afterwards (at least one whole test series).
Bancroft should also get a reasonable suspension.

Every team does do it but I don't care about other countries. Do dumb things cop a fair whack and then try and move on.
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CA were listening. What about Starc and Hazlewood? Smith keeps saying "leadership group" and that implies more than two people. Even Khawaja and Marsh might be implicated because of Smith not taking sole responsibility. I also believe him when he says that Lehmann wasn't involved. Why would be involve other players in this but not the coach?

What is Australia's next test series?
 
Bilal7 said:
CA were listening. What about Starc and Hazlewood? Smith keeps saying "leadership group" and that implies more than two people. Even Khawaja and Marsh might be implicated because of Smith not taking sole responsibility. I also believe him when he says that Lehmann wasn't involved. Why would be involve other players in this but not the coach?

What is Australia's next test series?
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Story here is that Starc and Hazlewood were not involved and are utterly filthy with Smith for dumping them in this.

Khawaja and the Marsh brothers are not and have never been part of any leadership group.

As for Lehmann, well not only is this his team and the culture he has built but its hard to believe that the Captain would be having tactical discussions during the lunch break without talking to the coach. And in any case a good coach would have had control of the team.
 
Oligochaetes said:
Is it just me or Is Stuart Broad hinting at something?
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No doubts about it. Wonder if the ICC will even consider changing the result of the Ashes series into a 'no contest'. Probably not and probably the right decision too. Yeah, this is cheating and the players involved deserve the blame but the punishment should not go overboard.
 
Convict said:
Story here is that Starc and Hazlewood were not involved and are utterly filthy with Smith for dumping them in this.

Khawaja and the Marsh brothers are not and have never been part of any leadership group.

As for Lehmann, well not only is this his team and the culture he has built but its hard to believe that the Captain would be having tactical discussions during the lunch break without talking to the coach. And in any case a good coach would have had control of the team.
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It is hard to believe Hazlwood and Starc not in this. They were supposed to be the beneficiaries of this stupid act.
 
Bilal7 said:
No doubts about it. Wonder if the ICC will even consider changing the result of the Ashes series into a 'no contest'. Probably not and probably the right decision too. Yeah, this is cheating and the players involved deserve the blame but the punishment should not go overboard.
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Why would the ICC consider changing the results without any evidence available?

I mean they've never overturned the result of a match where ball tampering was proven before anyway.
 
Bilal7 said:
No doubts about it. Wonder if the ICC will even consider changing the result of the Ashes series into a 'no contest'. Probably not and probably the right decision too. Yeah, this is cheating and the players involved deserve the blame but the punishment should not go overboard.
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Which all results by which all teams can 'ICC retrospectively change !! Not fair and not practical.
 
Convict said:
Story here is that Starc and Hazlewood were not involved and are utterly filthy with Smith for dumping them in this.

Khawaja and the Marsh brothers are not and have never been part of any leadership group.

As for Lehmann, well not only is this his team and the culture he has built but its hard to believe that the Captain would be having tactical discussions during the lunch break without talking to the coach. And in any case a good coach would have had control of the team.
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I think there was thread in PP, where Starc was not happy with Smith's tactic to AB. We all smelled dissent /rebel there from Starc towards Captain Smith.

:smith vs :starc ?????

Looks like that is indeed the case...still speculation untill full investigation is concluded from CA and ICC :19:
 
Convict said:
Story here is that Starc and Hazlewood were not involved and are utterly filthy with Smith for dumping them in this.

Khawaja and the Marsh brothers are not and have never been part of any leadership group.

As for Lehmann, well not only is this his team and the culture he has built but its hard to believe that the Captain would be having tactical discussions during the lunch break without talking to the coach. And in any case a good coach would have had control of the team.
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Interesting. However, as the lead pace bowlers and with Starc being the best at utilizing reverse, how could they not know what was going on? They might not have been involved in the discussions though which is what you're getting at, I think.

It just seems to me that there were more players involved in that talk than just Smith, Warner and Bancroft. The "leadership group" talk makes it seem that way. However, no one is going to blame CA for not charging anyone else. The captain and vice captain punished in this manner sets a precedent for other cricket boards to follow.

Who do you think is going to be the next captain and vice captain? Not sure if Paine is part of the LOI teams.
 
Convict said:
Why would the ICC consider changing the results without any evidence available?

I mean they've never overturned the result of a match where ball tampering was proven before anyway.
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No, I agree. That would be totally unwarranted. However, perhaps the ICC need to enforce the rules against ball-tampering with something more than just a five-run penalty.
 
Bilal7 said:
Interesting. However, as the lead pace bowlers and with Starc being the best at utilizing reverse, how could they not know what was going on? They might not have been involved in the discussions though which is what you're getting at, I think.

It just seems to me that there were more players involved in that talk than just Smith, Warner and Bancroft. The "leadership group" talk makes it seem that way. However, no one is going to blame CA for not charging anyone else. The captain and vice captain punished in this manner sets a precedent for other cricket boards to follow.

Who do you think is going to be the next captain and vice captain? Not sure if Paine is part of the LOI teams.
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Finch will Captain the ODI team (probably to the next world cup) Mitch Marsh as vice captain maybe.
 
Bilal7 said:
No, I agree. That would be totally unwarranted. However, perhaps the ICC need to enforce the rules against ball-tampering with something more than just a five-run penalty.
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Agree, Like ICC took stern stand on certified chuckers and shut them out of the game for good ....they should do something similarly drastic to remove ball tampering malice as well from the game.

Now, even if any team achieves to get reverse swing with natural wear and tear, regular shining of the ball.

Natural to get doubts was anyone tried to cheat to get that reverse swing or was it genuine?

Need to get the trust of cricket fans restored by ICC :19:
 
Just watched James Sutherland's press conference, he sounded on the verge of tears.

To top it all off, two journos then got into a scuffle. Australia are going the full Pakistan, though we've been controversy-free for a change lately.
 
Lehmann had a walkie-talkie, telling the guy with the drinks to send messages to Bancroft on the field. There is no way that he wasn't involved in this, should be sacked immediately.
 
Convict said:
And that is all the ICC thinks it is worth. A one test ban.

Ultimately only CA can make a stand here.
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Tbf that is the standard punishment, removal of coach or removal from captaincy is not within their ambit, that is upto CA.
 
Icc punishment was always going to be nothing major. CA punishment is the one to watch out for.
 
Steve Smith suspended for one Test match and Cameron Bancroft handed three demerit points

Australia captain Steve Smith has been handed a one-match suspension and fined 100% of his match fee following his admission yesterday that he was party to a decision to attempt to change the condition of the ball in order to gain an unfair advantage during the third day’s play in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.

ICC Chief Executive David Richardson laid the charge against Smith under to Article 2.2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel which prohibits to ‘all types of conduct of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game’. Smith accepted the charge and the proposed sanction of two suspension points which equates to a ban for the next Test match and which will see four demerit points added to his record.

Mr Richardson said: “The decision made by the leadership group of the Australian team to act in this way is clearly contrary to the spirit of the game, risks causing significant damage to the integrity of the match, the players and the sport itself and is therefore ‘serious’ in nature. As captain, Steve Smith must take full responsibility for the actions of his players and it is appropriate that he be suspended.”

“The game needs to have a hard look at itself. In recent weeks we have seen incidents of ugly sledging, send-offs, dissent against umpires’ decisions, a walk-off, ball tampering and some ordinary off-field behaviour.

“The ICC needs to do more to prevent poor behavior and better police the spirit of the game, defining more clearly what is expected of players and enforcing the regulations in a consistent fashion. In addition and most importantly Member countries need to show more accountability for their teams’ conduct. Winning is important but not at the expense of the spirit of the game which is intrinsic and precious to the sport of cricket. We have to raise the bar across all areas.”

Additionally, Australia opener Cameron Bancroft has been fined 75 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points for breaching Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day’s play on Saturday.

Bancroft admitted that he breached Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “changing the condition of the ball in breach of clause 41.3.” and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, and as such there was no need for a formal hearing.

The incident that led to the charges being laid took place during South Africa’s innings on Saturday afternoon when Bancroft was seen on television holding a foreign object while rubbing the ball, before hiding the object in his pocket, then inside his trousers.

As soon as the incident was shown on the giant screen, the player was questioned in the presence of his captain Steve Smith by the two on-field umpires, Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong, who, along with third umpire Ian Gould and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar, later charged Bancroft.

The umpires inspected the ball at that time and elected not to replace the ball and award a 5-run penalty as they could not see any marks on the ball that suggested that its condition had been changed as a direct result of Bancroft’s actions. The umpires though agreed that Bancroft’s actions were likely to alter the condition of the ball and he was therefore charged under Article 2.2.9.

Commenting on his decision, Mr Pycroft said: “To carry a foreign object on to the field of play with the intention of changing the condition of the ball to gain an unfair advantage over your opponent is against not only the Laws, but the Spirit of the game as well.

“That said, I acknowledge that Cameron has accepted responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty to the charge and apologising publicly. As a young player starting out in international cricket, I hope the lessons learned from this episode will strongly influence the way he plays the game during the rest of his career.”

All Level 2 breaches carry a minimum penalty of a fine of between 50-100 per cent of the applicable match fee and/or up to two suspension points.
 
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While Bancroft has been slapped with 75 percent fine of his match fee and handed three demerit points for breaching for breaching article 2.2.9 of ICC code of conduct for players.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yeah... about that, Dave. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvAUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/DrCd8ASkN3">pic.twitter.com/DrCd8ASkN3</a></p>— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCricketerMag/status/977853720103915520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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Joke punishment. Rashid Latif got a 5 match ban - deservedly so - for claiming a catch that wasn't and Ridley Jacobs was banned for 3 games when he stumped Sehwag with the ball not in his correct hand despite Jacobs not even having appealed for the stumping. And then we have Steve Smith who publicly admits that they ball tampered and it was pre-planned getting off with just a 1 match ban. Farcical.
 
He is lucky in this particular match SA batted well.. If SA were bundled out for 150 odd due to massive advantage due to tampering then it would have been a bigger fiasco.
 
jagatk said:
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yeah... about that, Dave. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvAUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/DrCd8ASkN3">pic.twitter.com/DrCd8ASkN3</a></p>— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheCricketerMag/status/977853720103915520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Click to expand...

Hilarious when you look at it retrospectively now ... lot of preaching from Saint David Warner :warner :)))
 
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He's no more a captain, can't play as a batsman in the next test. Wonder if he will be part of that famous leadership group then
 
This is the ICC punishment. The slap on the wrist.

I'm sure CA will be much harsher.
 
Thats what I said earlier - a 1 Test match ban is about right.

Also I expect to be Smith either to resign or be sacked as captain because clearly he has no control over his teams behaviour which is clearly embarrassing their nation.
 
Rabada got 2 tests (prior to it being overturned) for rubbing shoulders and Smith gets 1 test for blatant cheating. ICC are very inconsistent or is it selective bias towards some?
 
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