It’s just not cricket: Disgraceful behaviour by Australian cricket team

Ball tampering! Australian cricket lovers were shocked and dismayed to learn on the morning of Sunday, March 25, that Cameron Bancroft had been caught tampering with the ball in a match against South Africa, which Australia was losing.

It was not just a spit or a hand extra dirty that rubbed the ball up, no, Bancroft used a piece of tape to dirty and rough up the ball. The ploy was not Bancroft’s alone. This was a decision that involved the team’s ‘Leadership Group’, namely captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner. The idea was to get the ball in play roughed to such a degree that a new ball with more swing could be taken.

Social and mainstream media has reacted to this news with disgust. Even prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has weighed in. The cheating scandal was the lead item on Sunday’s evening news, it has been the lead story on the ABC, and in the nation’s newspapers — where the Sydney Morning Herald has cleverly labeled it ‘The Disgrace that Stopped the Nation’. I have not been able to see any comment that excuses this behaviour.

Cricket has always been a game associated with fair play and sportsmanship. ‘It’s just not cricket!’ is a term we use to express an opinion about something that is unfair.

To have a national team in any sport found cheating is a slur on all national teams.

Cricket has changed a lot since I first began listening to it with my grandfather on the radio in the late-1950s. It has weathered the storm of ‘pyjama cricket’ and a one day match seems quite staid compared to the antics of the Big Bash League. Woman’s cricket is actually shown on television now. The powers that run cricket seem to have their goal as attendance and television rights, and merchandising.

The New Zealanders never let us forget the underarm bowling incident of the Chappell brothers, and while it was certainly unsportsmanlike in behaviour, the action was legal at that point in time.

The incident involving ball tampering is not only illegal, but it trumps any untoward activity by a sporting team in Australia’s history — the Fine Cotton horse racing scandal, the Melbourne Storm’s salary cap breaches, and the supplements saga involving the Essendon Bombers AFL and Cronulla Sharks NRL teams are just some of the cheating cases that spring to mind.

No one disputes that talented young men should be paid a fair salary for their time as cricketers, however, it seems these particular players have lost their moral compass in the pursuit of a win and match fees.

It is particularly shameful considering the spotlight had already been turned on the Australian cricket team for its involvement in the utterly unattractive aspect of sledging during this test series. One has to ask ‘where to from here?’. It is a sad time for Australian cricket!

What are your thoughts on the Australian cricket cheating scandal? What action do you think is required?

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