Australia VS South Africa: Ball tampering incident unfolded

What are your thoughts on the ball tampering scandal regarding the Australian cricket team?

The Australian cricket team has always been engulfed in controversies. Many a time I gave them the benefit of doubt that their aggression on the field ended up with them crossing the line a few times. I admired their hunger for winning. I attributed the controversies which happened in the heat of the moment to their unsatiated desire to maintain their supremacy in the cricketing.

How far have they come in the true spirit of the ‘gentleman’s game’!

Surely, the Australian team has never failed to entertain the cricket fraternity on the field. Earlier it was the cricketing plus sledging skills and now it’s the cheating skills or art I must say which has made the headlines for them. Ball tampering is an illegal act of distorting the surface/seam of the ball to affect its motion.

So, this is what really happened:

During the 3rd Test out of the 4 Test match series between Australia and South Africa which was being played in Cape Town, the scandal took place. After winning the 1st Test, losing the 2nd followed by about-to-lose 3rd Test of the series Australian team members allegedly Darren Lehmann (Current Australian coach), Steven Smith (Australian captain), Cameron Bancroft (Australian Batsman) and Peter Handscomb (Australian 12th man during the match) schemed to tamper the ball with a yellow foreign object on the 3rd day of the Test match.

Leading Actor: The heroic role was handed over to the new Australian player in the team known as Cameron Bancroft or Cameron Ban-corrupt or Cameron Bankrupt rather (whatever suits better). He used a yellow tape and some granules from the pitch to worsen the condition of the ball so that umpires get in another ball in between. On being asked by field umpires, explained that it was the sunglass cloth under his pants and not any other foreign object

Now, why would he do that? Actually, during the 1st Test, the ball was replaced which helped Mitchell Starc in reversing the ball and picking up 5 wickets. After winning in that test, somehow leadership group tried every possible way to repeat the history and get another ball which could help them register another win. But, I guess cameraman was not convinced enough with the idea and wanted to showcase their real character to the world.

Director and technology: Darren Lehmann, reportedly the most experienced cricketer (experience and mastery in unlawful acts) helped the team members in execution. As a good director supervised each and every moment so much so that he used binoculars to have a closer look how properly Bancroft carries out the tampering move and later on warned the 12th man (Peter Handscomb) on the walkie talkie to go and inform Bancroft that he has been caught red-handed on the big screen.

Supporting Role: Peter Handscomb was seen in the field communicating the message to Cameron Bancroft afterward: Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft admitted cheating in the press conference after the day’s play. It looked like they were sorry that they were caught but not for the fact that they tried to cheat.

Conclusion: Did winning become so important for the Aussie cricket team that it is ready to win at the cost of the spirit of the game? It is very alarming to see the ‘leadership group’ employ such a tactic. It is no longer the problem of an individual. It looks like the culture and ethics of the team itself have been compromised.

This disgraceful incident has made me lose my respect for the Australian cricket team.