Has the correct punishment been handed out to Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft by the ICC?

[MenInG]

Surely should have been a longer ban?

 

[babajee]

I wonder what they would have given if it was a Pakistani

 

[Wonderwoman]

Its in line with current laws. People are outraged but that is as per the law. If the law is not a deterrent enough then ICC needs to tweak the rules.

 

[Wonderwoman]

I wonder what they would have given if it was a Pakistani

It would have been same bro, dont parade your victim mentality all over.

 

[Big Mac]

ICC punishment was always going to be nothing, the real test is what the Aussie board decides to do about this.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The crazy world of cricket: <br>Bowl slow over rates - banned <br>Give a batsman a send-off - banned <br>Cheat by ball tampering - no ban<br>Smash a dressing room up - no ban<br>Ugly scenes between players and arguing with the umpires - no ban<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SLvBAN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SLvBAN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvAUS</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/977921062741692416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">wow <a href="https://twitter.com/ICC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICC</a> wow. Great treatment nd FairPlay. No ban for Bancroft with all the evidences whereas 6 of us were banned for excessive appealing in South Africa 2001 without any evidence and Remember Sydney 2008? Not found guilty and banned for 3 matches.different people different rules</p>— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) <a href="https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh/status/977911377447677953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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[Majestic]

Should have been

 

[Rana]

Terrible decision by the ICC. why did they bother with even the single ban?

 

[R3verse Swing]

Where are the 5 penalty points?

ICC acting retrospectively, and by this I mean, based on media evidence!

I am sure CA will have much harsher sentences.

 

[Rahul1]

Both Warner and Smith should be banned for 1 year at least.

 

[Aman]

That is pathetic from the ICC.

I hope CA atleast punish them fairly.

 

[Tusker]

[MENTION=145164]Proactive_[/MENTION] the one and only Poster so far who thinks it was the right decision ... whadday surprise )

 

[BreadPakoda]

ICC's punishment is worthless, but I'm hearing there could be a life ban imposed by CA. That would be a disaster and totally unfair. Poor chap won't get a chance to even amend his mistakes. Ridiculous.

 

[kingusama92]

While I disagree with removing Smith from captaincy (if they go ahead with it), the ICC was far too lenient here.

Especially with Bancroft.

He's not a small kid that didn't warrant a ban. That's like Amir getting off with demerit points after spot-fixing for Butt.

 

[Fast Bowler]

Ridiculous decision. Quite clearly, rather than the offence, what matters most is who committed it.

 

[Proactive_]

I'm amazed that people think that this incident was in anyway more grievous than most other ball tampering incidents in history. NEWSFLASH: They're ALL planned. Nobody decides at the middle of the match to start tampering the ball without their teammates knowing it. It's pointless for one or two individuals to start tampering the ball without the bowlers/other teammates knowing what they're actually trying to alter with regards to the characteristics of the ball who are also working on the ball.

The precedent has already been set. A repeat offender in Faf Du Plessis is not just playing for his country - he's leading the team, so why should there be different benchmarks for Smith? Obviously has got to do with the brand of cricket that the Australians play which gets a lot of people hot under the collar. I'm pretty sure that if tomorrow NZ and Kane Williamson are caught doing the exact same thing.. it will be swept under the rug faster than anyone could shout "cheating!!", and many more people will empathize with Williamson and NZ coz they are the "nice guys" of world cricket. Doesn't work like that folks. Law is same for all and with regards to that the punishment is reasonable.

 

[Aman]

I'm amazed that people think that this incident was in anyway more grievous than most other ball tampering incidents in history. NEWSFLASH: They're ALL planned. Nobody decides at the middle of the match to start tampering the ball without their teammates knowing it. It's pointless for one or two individuals to start tampering the ball without the bowlers/other teammates knowing what they're actually trying to alter with regards to the characteristics of the ball who are also working on the ball.

The precedent has already been set. A repeat offender in Faf Du Plessis is not just playing for his country - he's leading the team, so why should there be different benchmarks for Smith? Obviously has got to do with the brand of cricket that the Australians play which gets a lot of people hot under the collar. I'm pretty sure that if tomorrow NZ and Kane Williamson are caught doing the exact same thing.. it will be swept under the rug faster than anyone could shout "cheating!!", and many more people with empathize with Williamson and NZ coz they are the "nice guys" of world cricket. Doesn't work like that folks. Law is same for all and with regards to that the punishment is reasonable.

Newsflash: there was no proof of it. There is here.

Also, a foreign object was brought onto the field to tamper with the ball.

 

[Hasan123]

I thought that both would get banned for a few games. Cricket Australia punishment will be much harsh.

 

[Proactive_]

Newsflash: there was no proof of it. There is here.

Also, a foreign object was brought onto the field to tamper with the ball.

So Du Plessis' zipper isn't "foreign" enough? Why is he leading the team after repeat offences?

 

[Aman]

So Du Plessis' zipper isn't "foreign" enough? Why is he leading the team after repeat offences?

The zipper was attached to his trousers. He didn't bringer a zipper onto the field with the sole intention of using it to tamper with the ball, nor was it ever proven he was told by the captain to do so

 

[Proactive_]

The zipper was attached to his trousers

So you mean that if the sandpaper is attached to the attire it wouldn't count as foreign?

 

[Proactive_]

The zipper was attached to his trousers. He didn't bringer a zipper onto the field with the sole intention of using it to tamper with the ball, nor was it ever proven he was told by the captain to do so

LOL the world isn't that innocent pal. Everyone in the team knows what's happening with the ball. If Smith hadn't confessed to his role would you be believing that a top order batsman in Bancroft would be brazen enough to tamper with the ball by his own volition? That's hilarious.

Nice guys Hashim Amla, AB De Villers and Graeme Smith would all have been knowing about what's happening in that Dubai Test..they also put Faf under the bus, the difference being that they left him to fend for himself unlike Smith .

 

[kingusama92]

I'm amazed that people think that this incident was in anyway more grievous than most other ball tampering incidents in history. NEWSFLASH: They're ALL planned. Nobody decides at the middle of the match to start tampering the ball without their teammates knowing it. It's pointless for one or two individuals to start tampering the ball without the bowlers/other teammates knowing what they're actually trying to alter with regards to the characteristics of the ball who are also working on the ball.

The precedent has already been set. A repeat offender in Faf Du Plessis is not just playing for his country - he's leading the team, so why should there be different benchmarks for Smith? Obviously has got to do with the brand of cricket that the Australians play which gets a lot of people hot under the collar. I'm pretty sure that if tomorrow NZ and Kane Williamson are caught doing the exact same thing.. it will be swept under the rug faster than anyone could shout "cheating!!", and many more people will empathize with Williamson and NZ coz they are the "nice guys" of world cricket. Doesn't work like that folks. Law is same for all and with regards to that the punishment is reasonable.

Afridi was banned for two games after biting the ball.

I can see your point about Smith but I don't see how Bancroft was let off. Completely inexcusable.

 

[Aman]

LOL the world isn't that innocent pal. Everyone in the team knows what's happening with the ball. If Smith hadn't confessed to his role would you be believing that a top order batsman in Bancroft would be brazen enough to tamper with the ball by his own volition? That's hilarious.

Nice guys Hashim Amla, AB De Villers and Graeme Smith would all have been knowing about what's happening in that Dubai Test..they also put Faf under the bus, the difference being that they left him to fend for himself unlike Smith .

That's speculation.

If proven, their names would have gone through the mud and they would receive the same treatment.

Here there is proof of it because it was so blatant, Smith was stupid to bring the leadership group down with him.

 

[Proactive_]

Afridi was banned for two games after biting the ball.

I can see your point about Smith but I don't see how Bancroft was let off. Completely inexcusable.

If I remember Afridi was banned for 2 T20s. Smith is missing a Test. Pretty much even.

That's speculation.

If proven, their names would have gone through the mud and they would receive the same treatment.

Here there is proof of it because it was so blatant, Smith was stupid to bring the leadership group down with him.

It's only brazen because Smith confessed to it. It wasn't even that big of a news before the press conference and Smith's admission. If Smith had stayed silent and put Bancroft's rookie self in the firing line..the incident would have been no different than Dubai 2013 when a 9 Test rookie in Faf Du Plessis was convicted of ball tampering.

 

[barah_admi]

Is the punishment for Steven Smith Enough?

As far as I have read, 5 penalty runs were not afforded at the time of the offence (not sure if they were retrospectively the following day). Bancroft escaped a ban with a 75% match fee fine. Warner has escaped without punishment unless there's been some development. Smith, captain and admitted ring leader gets away with a single test match ban.

Unlike a number of recent ball tampering prosecutions and allegations (Faf in 2013 against Pak, or the allegations of SA and Eng using sweets and the like to smear the ball) this was a pre-meditated, planned, and executed case, where the senior members of the side not only knew what they were doing was wrong, but went out of their way to construct an instrument to do it with. I can't think of the last time something like this happened.

Was the punishment enough? Sound off below.

 

[Tusker]

If I remember Afridi was banned for 2 T20s. Smith is missing a Test. Pretty much even.

1 Test match = 2 T20s wah ji wah ... BTW dont you go around ridiculing T20s elsewhere ?

 

[Mamba Red]

No.

He should be banned for 12 months and fined heavily.

You don't understand the way we in Australia feel about this.

We need to set an example and the Aussie public are sick of the crap they have put us through.

12 months and heavy fines.

Bancroft should be banned for 4 Test.

The coach should be dismissed never to coach any team in Australia.

 

[shane]

I don't understand. He admitted cheating. What more does an Australian need to do to receive a one-match ban at least?

 

[kingusama92]

If I remember Afridi was banned for 2 T20s. Smith is missing a Test. Pretty much even.

My concern is more with Bancroft. Smith got the general punishment reserved for these cases as a first time offender.

However, Bancroft scuffed the ball up, tried to conceal a foreign object, and then openly admitted to doing it. Yet, all he gets is 3 demerit points.

That's absurd.

 

[Aman]

If I remember Afridi was banned for 2 T20s. Smith is missing a Test. Pretty much even.



It's only brazen because Smith confessed to it. It wasn't even that big of a news before the press conference and Smith's admission. If Smith had stayed silent and put Bancroft's rookie self in the firing line..the incident would have been no different than Dubai 2013 when a 9 Test rookie in Faf Du Plessis was convicted of ball tampering.

I agree.

But he ADMITTED he was behind it. He deserves this and more.

That's what you seem to be missing, the others who did it in the past may have been instructed to do it advance, but there's zero proof to it.

 

[RainMan_]

It's hilarious to see the way this simple ball tempering incident has been blown out of proportion by the media and everybody else. Really, really unfortunate.

Come on, this is just a simple ball tempering but sadly some people r acting as If Smith has committed a murder or something like that.

Ball tempering has been going on for years and almost all the teams do it to allow their bowlers to reverse the ball. Some of them get caught, some don't. Is it right? Of course not, but at the same time it's not something fir which u can punish someone with a 12 months bann.

 

[jeetu]

Bancroft is not child. Its shocking that he was let off without a ban.

 

[Rayyman]

It's hilarious to see the way this simple ball tempering incident has been blown out of proportion by the media and everybody else. Really, really unfortunate.

Come on, this is just a simple ball tempering but sadly some people r acting as If Smith has committed a murder or something like that.

Ball tempering has been going on for years and almost all the teams do it to allow their bowlers to reverse the ball. Some of them get caught, some don't. Is it right? Of course not, but at the same time it's not something fir which u can punish someone with a 12 months bann.

I would definitely tamper the ball to get reverse swing. Do whatever it takes to win. Who cares about the rules.

 

[barah_admi]

So, an update on the issue, which is something I did not know about before. The cameras caught the Australian 12th man, receiving a message via walkie-talkie, likely from the coaching staff. The 12th man than ran out onto the pitch, whispered something to Bancroft (it seems the dressing room had seen the camera images), this led to Bancroft rushing to hide the instrument in his trousers.

This goes beyond most ball tampering cases I have come across (Faf in 2013, allegations against England, Waqar and his zip in 2000), why? Because this was a systemic case of cheating. The back room staff, the captain, vice captain, player and even the 12th man were all involved. Yet there is only a one match ban for the captain, a fine for the perpetrator and the vice captain and coach get away scott free?

This is absolutely unacceptable and the ICC, in its code of conduct, actually has a stipulation based on intent and pre-meditation.

People comparing it to other cases either do not know what has happened or do not understand the differences. There's a world of difference between an idiot (Afridi) taking a bit of the cherry and pre-planning, pre-meditating a situation where an instrument was built during the break to the damage the ball, with the involvement of numerous members of the touring party.

Disgraceful.

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Mumbai, March 26, 2018: Ajinkya Rahane will replace Steve Smith as captain of the Rajasthan Royals ahead of the Vivo Indian Premier League 2018.

Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket, said, “The incident in Cape Town has certainly disturbed the cricket world. We have been in constant touch with the BCCI and taken their counsel. Furthermore we have been in regular contact with Steve.”

Steve believes given the current circumstances “it’s in the best interest of the Rajasthan Royals that he steps down as Captain so the team can get ready for the start of the IPL without the ongoing distractions.” He would like to extend his gratitude to the BCCI officials and all the fans in India for their constant support.

Speaking at the announcement of the new captain, Bharucha added, “Ajinkya Rahane has been an integral part of the Royals family for a long time now and he understands the culture and values of our team. We have absolutely no doubt that he will be a great leader of the Rajasthan Royals.”

https://www.rajasthanroyals.com/aji...sthan-royals-in-the-upcoming-ipl-2018-season/

 

[Cricfan4eva]

The question is absurd tbh.

ICC has handed out the maximum punishment prescribed in the laws for the charge of changing the texture of the ball/tampering.

The question should be, should ICC relook at the maximum punishment for such an act? Well, yes.

 

[Proactive_]

I agree.

But he ADMITTED he was behind it. He deserves this and more.

That's what you seem to be missing, the others who did it in the past may have been instructed to do it advance, but there's zero proof to it.

Then the ICC is inept at dealing with such instances, simple as that. The ICC has already set the precedent that the punishment for ball tampering is a fine and a ban of at most a couple of matches. If they were really serious about eradicating the menace then they would have went hammer and tongs at the SA team in 2013 which put a 9 Test rookie in Faf Du Plessis under the bus, not a word was said to Graeme Smith, the seniors and the coaches and neither was any exemplary punishment dished out.

It's hypocritical to ask for Smith's head when other cricketers who plead guilty to ball tampering in the past have got away with much much less. It's not Smith's fault that the ICC is dumb enough to believe that 9 Test rookie middle order batsmen would take it upon themselves to tamper with the ball without the knowledge of the higher ups. That's not nonsensical and simply incoherent.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Bancroft should have been banned for a test.Smith for 5 tests.

 

[ManFan]

A five-year ban on Amir for a NO-BALL but this for ball-tampering?

 

[Amjid Javed]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The crazy world of cricket: <br>Bowl slow over rates - banned <br>Give a batsman a send-off - banned <br>Cheat by ball tampering - no ban<br>Smash a dressing room up - no ban<br>Ugly scenes between players and arguing with the umpires - no ban<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SLvBAN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SLvBAN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAvAUS</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/977921062741692416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Just shows what a joke the ICC are and no wonder players are showing no respect to the game.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

A five-year ban on Amir for a NO-BALL but this for ball-tampering?

You forgot jail

 

[Zahid87]

You forgot jail

Jail was not because he bowled a no-ball. No one goes to jail due to a cricketing offence.

Amir went to jail because it can be argued that his no ball was carried out in a deliberate attempt to profit by defrauding bookmakers - which is a chargeable offence in the UK.

Tampering with the ball is not in the same category. I can't believe that the media have succeeded in hyping it up to such an extent where certain people are able to speak of the two offences in the same breath.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

Surely should have been a longer ban?

ICC has to operate within rules and procedures in a proper manner.

CA is a bureaucracy in damage control mode looking for scapegoats, fuelled by a mob mentality in the media and public.

It's pretty easy to see who made the correct call.

 

[Mueez]

No

 

[MenInG]

The punishment is right as per ICC laws. Question is, our ICC laws setup for conspiracies like one hatched by Warner and Smith?

 

[Shutdown Corner]

Surely should have been a longer ban?

People would be remiss if they think only the Aussies engage in this type of action. Aussies just got caught and then lied about it. I can almost guarantee that every other team tampers with the ball at some point or another. People are just happy cuz its the villain Australia this time.

 

[big_gamer007]

Ridiculous by CA, 1 year ban is just preposterous.. ICC should have banned them for 3-5 matches and that’s about it strip them of captaincy as well..

 

[FreePalestine]

Opps, misread the post. I think the punishment they have got from CA is the right one. I think they ought to miss the ashes series. I also think it is a punishment not just for tampering but for the culture they had consciously been cultivating in the aussie team.

ICC punishment - I am not sure. Harbhajan's examples seem compelling and I don't think ICC is always consistent with their judgements. But I think ball tampering to a certain extent should be allowed in the game, so I don't want the ICC to give heavy punishments for ball tampering.