Ian Gould: Australia was out of control well before ball-tampering scandal

[MenInG]

Australian cricketers had gone “out of control” and turned “pretty average people” two-three years before the ball-tampering scandal, says former ICC Elite Panel umpire Ian Gould, who was the TV official in the infamous Cape Town Test of 2018.

Gould, who retired after last year’s World Cup, relayed what had been spotted on the TV -- Cameron Bancroft putting sandpaper down his trousers -- to the on-field umpires.

“If you look back on it now, Australia were out of control probably two years, maybe three years, before that, but not in this sense. Maybe - behavioural, chatty, being pretty average people,” Gould told the ‘Daily Telegraph’ .

The fallout of the Newlands Test was huge.

Then captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were slapped with a one-year international ban while Bancroft was suspended for nine months by Cricket Australia for their role in the scandal. It also prompted a cultural review into Australian cricket.

”... I didn’t realise what the repercussions would be,” Gould said.

“But when it came into my earpiece I didn’t think the prime minister of Australia was going to come tumbling down on these three guys. All I thought was - Jesus, how do I put this out to the guys on the field without making it an overreaction.

“It was a bit like on Mastermind when the light is on top of you and you’re going - oh dear, how do I talk through this?”

Ball-tampering was classed as a level two offence under the ICC Code of Conduct, but it has since been elevated to a level three category, which carries a ban of up to six Tests or 12 ODIs.

Gould admitted he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing on TV, but said what came out of it was good for the game, especially Australian cricket.

“When the director said, ‘He’s put something down the front of his trousers,’ I started giggling, because that didn’t sound quite right. Obviously, what’s come from it is for the betterment of Australian cricket - and cricket generally,” he observed.

Gould said that he still has the balls that were used in the Newlands Test.

“If you saw the balls, you would get it completely wrong. At the end of the day, the sandpaper didn’t get on that ball.

“They were working to get the ball to be pristine. Once they’d got one side bigger and shinier, that’s when the sandpaper was coming in.”

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...ron-bancroft-david-warner/article31297379.ece

 

[Hawkeye]

Well, Ian Gould is just being salty.



“If you look back on it now, Australia were out of control probably two years, maybe three years, before that, but not in this sense. Maybe - behavioural, chatty, being pretty average people,”

So, being chatty and sledging is "average people"?

No wonder it's coming from a former ENG cricketer. They'll always be jealous of the top class, aggressive brand of cricket that AUS plays.

The truly great cricketing nation with the most number of achievements is Aus.

Gould can't stand it. Thoughts [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] ?

 

[princeuk]

Just because he is English doesnt mean to say he cant express his opinion on aussie cricketers

 

[Markhor]

Ridiculous post from Hawkeye.

Australia's on-field behaviour was poor prior to the Newlands Test. The 2015 World Cup final, and the 2016 tour of New Zealand when Hazlewood was caught on the mic were just two examples I can think of at the top of my head. And Smith didn't seem to want to control it.

 

[Junaids]

Well, Ian Gould is just being salty.



“If you look back on it now, Australia were out of control probably two years, maybe three years, before that, but not in this sense. Maybe - behavioural, chatty, being pretty average people,”

So, being chatty and sledging is "average people"?

No wonder it's coming from a former ENG cricketer. They'll always be jealous of the top class, aggressive brand of cricket that AUS plays.

The truly great cricketing nation with the most number of achievements is Aus.

Gould can't stand it. Thoughts [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] ?

Actually I agree with Gould. Who was a very aggressive keeper at Sussex in my childhood, and gets in well with the Aussies.

I was at the first two Tests on that South African tour, and if you read my posts from the ground at Durban - two Tests before Australia were caught - you can see that I was politely accusing them of ball-tampering.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...a-162-amp-298-by-118-runs-in-first-Test/page2

I first noticed this at the Wellington Test 25 months earlier.

All teams fiddle around with the state of the ball. But with Australia it had become industrial strength cheating, and certain bowlers had amazing purple patches which began in 2016 and ended abruptly as soon as Australia were caught.

Everyone works the ball to try to get reverse in the final twenty overs before the new ball.

But in that series South Africa was reversing it after 50 overs, on pitches with billiard table smooth outfields, Which was suspicious.

But Australia was reversing it by the 27th over, which was so unsubtle and absurd that it aroused suspicion.

 

[sweep_shot]

I think ball tampering is very common among teams. It is just that most of the times they probably don't get caught.

 

[Junaids]

I think ball tampering is very common among teams. It is just that most of the times they probably don't get caught.

Yes of course, but it is the degree of tampering that was different with Australia.

Everyone else lifts the seam or uses their fingernails to scratch the surface of the ball, and gets gentle reverse around The 60th over. It’s the equivalent of a cyclist or a sprinter having an energy drink.

Australia was caught using sandpaper to get reverse swing 30 overs earlier than their opponents, and to a much greater degree of deviation. It was the equivalent of Lance Armstrong or Ben Johnson injecting such high doses of anabolic steroids that their opponents could not win except by cheating too.

It was literally like cycling in the Armstrong Era, where you were going to lose unless you became a cheat too.

 

[Hawkeye]

Actually I agree with Gould. Who was a very aggressive keeper at Sussex in my childhood, and gets in well with the Aussies.

I was at the first two Tests on that South African tour, and if you read my posts from the ground at Durban - two Tests before Australia were caught - you can see that I was politely accusing them of ball-tampering.

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/s...a-162-amp-298-by-118-runs-in-first-Test/page2

I first noticed this at the Wellington Test 25 months earlier.

All teams fiddle around with the state of the ball. But with Australia it had become industrial strength cheating, and certain bowlers had amazing purple patches which began in 2016 and ended abruptly as soon as Australia were caught.

Everyone works the ball to try to get reverse in the final twenty overs before the new ball.

But in that series South Africa was reversing it after 50 overs, on pitches with billiard table smooth outfields, Which was suspicious.

But Australia was reversing it by the 27th over, which was so unsubtle and absurd that it aroused suspicion.

Ball tampering is one thing.

But playing an aggressive brand of cricket, on-field banter and sledging is something entirely different.

I understand that ENG people don't like that. They've never played the kind of aggressive cricket AUS played throughout their history.

 

[chacha kashmiri]

Ball tampering is one thing.

But playing an aggressive brand of cricket, on-field banter and sledging is something entirely different.

I understand that ENG people don't like that. They've never played the kind of aggressive cricket AUS played throughout their history.

It was Macho cricket exemplified by Mark Waugh who was a an average cricketer turned into a great one through his mental will
The generation that followed sadly copied his tactics and sledging but sadly didn't have the same ability and even disrespected coaches like Mickey Arthur

 

[Junaids]

Well, Ian Gould is just being salty.



“If you look back on it now, Australia were out of control probably two years, maybe three years, before that, but not in this sense. Maybe - behavioural, chatty, being pretty average people,”

So, being chatty and sledging is "average people"?

No wonder it's coming from a former ENG cricketer. They'll always be jealous of the top class, aggressive brand of cricket that AUS plays.

The truly great cricketing nation with the most number of achievements is Aus.

Gould can't stand it. Thoughts [MENTION=132916]Junaids[/MENTION] ?

I'm not totally sure that you understand the nuances of how we English view the Australians.

The vast majority of British people in every opinion poll that I have ever seen would emigrate to Australia tomorrow if they were allowed to. We grow up watching Australian soap operas and British shows like "Geordie Shore" are filmed at times in Australia. To most of us it's everything we aspire to.

There are things about Australia which we don't like us much as New Zealand: the brashness to which you refer, the cultural Americanisation and the aggression on the sports field which sometimes spirals out of control.

But we don't feel insecure or inferior as a cricket nation. We won The Ashes in Australia in 78-79, 86-87 and 10-11. We have won in India far more often than Australia has - 76-77, 84-85 and 12-13. And we don't respect white ball victories so we discount their greater white ball success than our own.

I would say that in general we love Australia, love most Aussies (although we have a friendly rivalry with them) and the only jealousy is because few of us have the privilege that I do to live here.

We may tease them and take the mickey out of them, but we actually admire and respect them. To us British, Aussies and Kiwis and Canadians are family - they are our cousins.

And generally in spite of all protestations to the contrary, they feel quite similar about the English - except they don't want to live there except for a couple of years in their early twenties!

 

[Haroon786]

Ridiculous post from Hawkeye.

Australia's on-field behaviour was poor prior to the Newlands Test. The 2015 World Cup final, and the 2016 tour of New Zealand when Hazlewood was caught on the mic were just two examples I can think of at the top of my head. And Smith didn't seem to want to control it.

Not surprising, given said track record.

Seems like as soon as the Aussies acheive some sort of superiority in the sport, it gets to their heads. Not sure if it always used to be like this.

 

[Robert]

Ball tampering is one thing.

But playing an aggressive brand of cricket, on-field banter and sledging is something entirely different.

I understand that ENG people don't like that. They've never played the kind of aggressive cricket AUS played throughout their history.

Hmm... I offer Larwood, Tyson, Snow, Willis, Harmison and Archer breaking bones and cracking heads. Don’t mistake English reserve for a lack of ruthlessness.

The ACB realised that a culture change was necessary from the win-at-all-costs attitude that developed under Lehman - but you think Gunner isn’t allowed to say the same thing?

 

[MenInG]

Australia were untouchables (in a domineering sense) before Sandpapergate - that scandal brought them back to earth.

 

[Varun]

In the case of Australia it's more of when they were not average people than when they were.

Probably 2-3 years in the 2000 to 2020 period tops.

 

[Robert]

In the case of Australia it's more of when they were not average people than when they were.

Probably 2-3 years in the 2000 to 2020 period tops.

Funny how ‘average’ has come to mean ‘bad’.

 

[Robert]

I'm not totally sure that you understand the nuances of how we English view the Australians.

The vast majority of British people in every opinion poll that I have ever seen would emigrate to Australia tomorrow if they were allowed to. We grow up watching Australian soap operas and British shows like "Geordie Shore" are filmed at times in Australia. To most of us it's everything we aspire to.

There are things about Australia which we don't like us much as New Zealand: the brashness to which you refer, the cultural Americanisation and the aggression on the sports field which sometimes spirals out of control.

But we don't feel insecure or inferior as a cricket nation. We won The Ashes in Australia in 78-79, 86-87 and 10-11. We have won in India far more often than Australia has - 76-77, 84-85 and 12-13. And we don't respect white ball victories so we discount their greater white ball success than our own.

I would say that in general we love Australia, love most Aussies (although we have a friendly rivalry with them) and the only jealousy is because few of us have the privilege that I do to live here.

We may tease them and take the mickey out of them, but we actually admire and respect them. To us British, Aussies and Kiwis and Canadians are family - they are our cousins.

And generally in spite of all protestations to the contrary, they feel quite similar about the English - except they don't want to live there except for a couple of years in their early twenties!

I agree with this.

The young Aussie pilgrimage to England (of which I am grateful because the girls don’t wait to be asked out, they ask you out which was great for my shy young self) seems to have dried up though. Australia has the highest human development index in the world, up there with Norway and Sweden except the sun shines all year. A great nation to be part of, looking forward instead of backward like England.

 

[Varun]

Funny how ‘average’ has come to mean ‘bad’.

In this thread, it's used in the context of how Ian Gould said/meant it.