[Cricket] Aussie Cheats!

Clive Walker said:

at the end of the day it is still only a game! Yes, its cheating but in the grand scheme of things the reaction from everyone (the pm of oz included) is way way way over the top.

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BensGrandad said:

Smith crying at the Press Conference made me laugh and I thought serves you right, man up.

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Super Steve Earle said:

I know, from reading much of this long thread, that I am out of step with most of the other posters. However the sight of Smith so distraught with the realisation of what he had done brought a tear to my eye.

The Aussies are brought up to do anything to win, win at all costs. He has suddenly hit the brick wall of understanding that the rest of the world looks down on their behaviour. His life is in ruins, he is clearly filled with remorse and I for one believe it was not just with being found out. His father was behind him and the shame was there for all to see. He could even be suicidal such is enormity of his fall from grace.

And there's BG laughing laughing at his pain. You should be ashamed of yourself. I have no other words to describe you.

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Hampster Gull said:

The culture of Australian sport over decades is to blame, these guys are a product of the system. The Aussie national team should be banned from competive sports a few years

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dazzer6666 said:

He looked properly broken, sad to see - the enormity of the situation has finally hit home.

Rather than possibly being suicidal, I suspect he is far more likely to be the top run scorer in the next Ashes though.

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Super Steve Earle said:

I know, from reading much of this long thread, that I am out of step with most of the other posters. However the sight of Smith so distraught with the realisation of what he had done brought a tear to my eye.

The Aussies are brought up to do anything to win, win at all costs. He has suddenly hit the brick wall of understanding that the rest of the world looks down on their behaviour. His life is in ruins, he is clearly filled with remorse and I for one believe it was not just with being found out. His father was behind him and the shame was there for all to see. He could even be suicidal such is enormity of his fall from grace.

And there's BG laughing laughing at his pain. You should be ashamed of yourself. I have no other words to describe you.

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LlcoolJ said:

Including our keeper? Bit harsh IMO.

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Super Steve Earle said:

I know, from reading much of this long thread, that I am out of step with most of the other posters. However the sight of Smith so distraught with the realisation of what he had done brought a tear to my eye.

The Aussies are brought up to do anything to win, win at all costs. He has suddenly hit the brick wall of understanding that the rest of the world looks down on their behaviour. His life is in ruins, he is clearly filled with remorse and I for one believe it was not just with being found out. His father was behind him and the shame was there for all to see. He could even be suicidal such is enormity of his fall from grace.

And there's BG laughing laughing at his pain. You should be ashamed of yourself. I have no other words to describe you.

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Clive Walker said:

at the end of the day it is still only a game! Yes, its cheating but in the grand scheme of things the reaction from everyone (the pm of oz included) is way way way over the top.

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I was playing for England against Australia in a one-day international in Sydney and I had just been dismissed for a second-ball duck, lbw to Mitchell Starc. As I was walking off, head down, David Warner charged over and screamed abuse in my face.

I don’t need to repeat what he said, but that story from 2015 is enough to explain why a lot of cricketers around the world have little or no sympathy after hearing Warner had been suspended for 12 months. Many of them will feel this is a classic case of cricketing karma. As soon as you get personal on the field, you will find yourself with enemies.

Steve Smith and Warner, who have lost their roles as captain and vice-captain respectively, belittled opponents and mocked them. Now, they are feeling the wrath of the cricket world — and beyond — for the cheating scandal that has seen both banned from international cricket for a year. If you go around behaving as they did, then don’t expect people to back you up when things go south.

The length of the ban seems a little harsh, though when the Prime Minister of a country gets involved, as Malcolm Turnbull did in this case, the penalties were always likely to be heavy. I am amazed that Australia were so naive — and so arrogant — to think they would get away with it. It beggars belief: bringing sandpaper on to the field at Newlands to rough up the ball to gain reverse swing and believing nobody would spot it, despite the number of cameras around the ground.

After investigating, Cricket Australia found the fast bowlers were not part of the plan that was hatched by Warner and involved Smith and Cameron Bancroft, which is equally bizarre. When I played for England, it was inconceivable that anything would happen to the ball without Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad knowing about it.

They would be on top of the fielders all the time — don’t get sweat on the ball, don’t get sun cream on it, keep one side dry. Alastair Cook is unusual in that he barely sweats, so the ball was always thrown to him in the field when we were trying to get reverse. But bringing something on to the field to achieve it? Never.

On top of that, Australia have a world-class attack. Why not just work hard on the ball within the laws and let Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins do the rest?

I played cricket all my life and I have heard what certain teams do to try to get the ball moving through the air. I saw enough of it in county cricket. After a ball has gone for six, the fielder retrieving it has been known to scrape one side of it along the concrete walkway separating the spectators’ seats from the boundary edge. I have also heard of players using fingernails to scuff up the ball.

When you are batting, you can get a sense of what is going on and some county and international sides are very effective at it.

I am not condoning any of this, but I believe it is very different from bringing a foreign object — like sandpaper — on to the field to change the condition of the ball.

The Australians have paid a big price for what they did. Whatever they do in cricket, these players will be remembered for this.

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BadFish said:

A country shocked and appalled by cheating in sport but fine with imprisonment of refugees and systematic poor treatment or aboriginals and the environment.

Priorities are skewed.

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Tyrone Biggums said:

So when are you leaving? I'll book the taxi.

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BadFish said:

I thought you were a keen supporter of free speech. Yet you want me to leave the country for expressing an opinion.

Sounds more Kim Yong Un than Libertarian to me

Weird.

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Tyrone Biggums said:

I am, but you seem to always to be unhappy and negative towards the place.

Makes one wonder why you'd want to live here.

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