AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has had his say after captain Steve Smith and teammate Cameron Bancroft sensationally admitted to ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa on Saturday, plunging cricket into potentially its greatest crisis.
Bancroft was caught on television cameras appearing to rub a yellow object on the ball, and later said: “I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want to be here (in the press conference) because I want to be accountable for my actions.”
Smith admitted Bancroft did not act alone and before play started on Sunday, he and David Warner stood down from their positions as captain and vice-captain of the Test team for the remainder of the third Test.
Read: Big problem with Smith’s bombshell
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland fronted a press conference on Sunday to announce an investigation into the incident. “We need to understand the facts before we take action,” Sutherland said.
Mr Turnbull weighed in on the controversy on Sunday afternoon, slamming the team for cheating.
“We all woke up this morning shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa,” he told reporters. “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 by engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief.
“There’s a lot of disappointment.”
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Mr Turnbull said he had spoken to Cricket Australia chairman David Peever and hoped the sport’s governing body would take “decisive action”.
“I’ve expressed to him very clearly and unequivocally my disappointment and my concern about the events in South Africa,” Mr Turnbull said.
“It’s their responsibility to deal with it but I have to say the whole nation who holds those who wear the baggy green up on a pedestal — about as high as you can get in Australia, higher than any politician that’s for sure — this is a shocking disappointment and it’s wrong and I look forward to Cricket Australia taking decisive action soon.”
CAN SMITH REMAIN AS CAPTAIN IN THE LONG RUN?
While Smith relinquished his leadership duties in Cape Town, it remains to be seen what will happen for the fourth and final Test of the series.
Former captain Allan Border said he would be comfortable with Smith losing the captaincy in a column for Fox Sports Australia.
“If the ICC and the Australian board decides that Steve Smith is free to play in the fourth Test, I would be comfortable with that,” Border wrote.
“But equally, if he has to pay a penalty for his leadership in going down this path I’d be just as comfortable.”
Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist said Australian cricket is now the “laughing stock of world sport” and doubts Smith can continue to skipper the side.
“I’m really sad, shocked, stunned — I’m not trying to overdramatise it but (I’m) really emotional about this,” Gilchrist said on Channel 10 while broadcasting Sunday’s Australian F1 Grand Prix.
“Australian cricket now and the integrity of Australian cricket is the laughing stock of world sport.
“This clearly is against the laws of the game and we’ve just had our national captain and our national team admit that they sat down, premeditated and pre-planned a way to cheat.
“I’m not sure he (Smith) can remain captain.
“I think it’s a pretty tough position to hold after you’ve admitted to what you’ve admitted to, (to be able to) carry on with any faith from anyone watching.
“We’ll wait and see whether he’s told, or whether he stands aside.”
Gilchrist said the scandal also brought into question what happens to the rest of the “leadership group” Smith said was part of the discussion about cheating.
“Then that implicates the senior playing group — he spoke about the leadership group,” Gilchrist said.
“I don’t remember a dedicated leadership group a la Australian rules football where they name who the leadership group is — (in my day) it was pretty much coach, captain and vice-captain who were the leadership group.
“Match bans or fines, they’re going to pale into insignificance if (Smith) loses the captaincy and if players get relieved of those leadership positions.
“It might implicate (David) Warner as vice-captain, I don’t know.”
Other prominent cricket figures called for Smith’s head.
HOW THE DRAMA UNFOLDED
Television footage showed Bancroft, 25, take a yellow object out of his pocket while fielding in the post-lunch session on the third day of the Test at Newlands.
He was spoken to by umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth after appearing to have the object in his hand after fielding the ball at cover.
While the umpires were conferring, Bancroft then appeared to place the small yellow object in his underpants.
When the umpires went across to talk to him he reached into a pocket and showed them what looked like a soft pouch for sunglasses.
The umpires took no action and did not change the ball. “I was sighted on the screen and that resulted in me shoving it down my trousers. I panicked quite a lot,” said Bancroft.
There were boos from a capacity crowd at Newlands when the incident was shown on the big screen.
Bancroft said he had met with the match officials after play and faced a charge of attempting to change the condition of the ball.
There was no immediate confirmation from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Both Bancroft and Smith, who took over the Australian captaincy in 2015, appeared before the media after the match and admitted that they had attempted to change the condition of the ball.
“We had a discussion during the break. On myself I saw an opportunity to use some yellow tape and the granules from the rough patches of the wicket to change the condition of the ball,” said opening batsman Bancroft.
“It didn’t work, the umpires didn’t change the ball.”
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke couldn’t believe Bancroft was asked to do the dirty work.
“I can’t believe if the leadership group has made a decision to do this, has got the young kid who is playing his eighth Test match, to do that,” Clarke told Channel Nine. “As a leader you can’t ask somebody to do something you’re not willing to do yourself.
“Steve Smith is such a lovely, lovely guy. You can see he’s shattered.”
Clarke said it wasn’t fair for him to call for Smith’s head without more information.
PLAYERS ONLY: LEHMANN NOT INVOLVED
Smith insisted that coach Darren Lehmann was not part of the conspiracy even though footage appeared to show the coach sending a message onto the field with twelfth man Peter Handscomb after the first footage of the incident.
“The coach isn’t involved. It was purely the leadership group and the players came up with this,” added the captain who is playing in the 64th Test of a career which has yielded more than 6000 runs.
“We saw this as such an important game. We’ve obviously seen the ball reversing quite a lot throughout this series and the ball just didn’t look like it was going to go. That’s a mistake on our behalf.”
Michael Clarke said if that was the case, it was a sign Lehmann didn’t have control of the team.
The four-match series is locked at 1-1 and South Africa finished the third day in a strong position, 294 runs ahead with five wickets in hand.
Asked whether Australia had used similar methods in previous matches, notably in the first Test in Durban, where Mitchell Starc achieved prodigious reverse swing, Smith said: “You can ask questions as much as you like but I can promise you this is the first time it has happened. I’ve made it clear it is regrettable and we move on from this and hopefully will learn something from this.”
CRICKET LEGENDS FURIOUS
The scandal provoked widespread condemnation by former players. “This was a premeditated move by the Australian captain to cheat,” said former England skipper Nasser Hussain.
Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne added: “I feel a bit for Cameron Bancroft because I don’t think he’s taken it upon himself to do something and put it in his pocket.”
Michael Vaughan, another former England captain, said all of the Australian team and coaches would forever be remembered as cheats.
“Steve Smith, his Team & ALL the management will have to accept that whatever happens in their careers they will all be known for trying to CHEAT the game,” tweeted Vaughan.
— AAP
