Aussies caught red handed, admit to ball tampering

Australia’s reputation as a country that values sportsmanship and honesty has gone down the drain after the national cricketing team admitted to deliberately tampering with the ball at the third Test in South Africa at the weekend.

There were gasps from the crowd on Saturday when bowler Cameron Bancroft was caught on the big screen appearing to rub a yellow object on the ball. He was confronted by the umpires and told to empty his pockets on the grounds, although no yellow object was found.

Video footage of the incident appears to show Bancroft discreetly slipping the yellow object down his pants.

Bancroft caught on camera, in graphic detail, doctoring the ball. Unlikely he’d get away with a “brain-fade” sham as Steve Smith in Ind. SA Board shd have more self-respect than India’s, Lodha-fied & knee-capped #SAvAUS
pic.twitter.com/vlHvCERRJS

— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) March 24, 2018

When faced with the video evidence, skipper Steve Smith sensationally admitted he had formulated the tampering plan with senior members of the team and instructed Bancroft to put it into action.

“Today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group’s behalf as well,” Smith said at a hostile press conference after the match.

“But I take responsibility as the captain. I need to take control of the ship, but this is certainly something I’m not proud of and something that I can hope I learn from and come back strong from.

“I am embarrassed to be sitting here talking about this.”

When asked if he’d resign as team captain, Smith remained defiant and declared he would not stand down.

“My integrity, the team’s integrity, the leadership group’s integrity has come into question and rightfully so,” he said.

“It’s such poor actions and deeply regrettable and certainly won’t happen again under my leadership I can promise you.”

A sullen-looking Bancroft sat next to Smith and remained mostly quiet for the duration of the interview. He has since been charged with ball tampering, a fine that carries four demerit points and a possible 100 per cent match fee fine as a level two offence, according to the ABC.

The incident has sparked outrage across the cricketing community and on social media where cricket fans vented their disgust at the poor show of sportsmanship.

Can we talk about this? pic.twitter.com/cmpRrOArgD

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) March 24, 2018

One Twitter user said Bancroft’s entire career had been tarnished by “his senior teammates (who are supposed to teach) led him down the hallow passage ways of disappointment street!”.

Another said he couldn’t “put into words what a shock and a disgrace this is to the world of cricket”.

Cricket legend Shane Warn, who was commentating the test, said he felt sorry for Bancroft, who he called a victim of senior management’s decision.

“I don’t care who you are, you can’t tamper with the ball. We cant make accusations … but you just cant do the things that it looks like he’s doing,” Warne said.

“I feel a bit for Cameron Bancroft because I don’t think he’s taken upon himself to tamper.

“I think we’ve got to get to the bottom of why that’s happened, and say ‘what was [the object used]? What was that that you were hiding?’.

Do you think Australia’s reputation for sportsmanship has been tarnished by this? Do you think Smith should step down?