Ball tampering, the hot topic for the past few days around the world has derived the attention of people who don't even follow cricket. Not sure if this attention has arisen for just 'ball tampering' or for 'the mistake by Aussies', but I would definitely go with the latter part to be the exact cause for this scrutiny by the media and keyboard warriors. Speaking about Ball Tampering, it has been done by many cricketers in the past and they were banned or fined. The list includes Rahul Dravid, Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis, Faf Du Plessis(twice), Vernon Philander and many more and all these players were either fined or banned for few matches(less than 4 matches).
ICC took over the case of ball tampering by Aussies and punished Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steven Smith. However, the punishments were quite fair as Warner and Smith were issued one match ban and Bancroft was just fined. But the story was dug deep and few strange facts came out of the investigation conducted by CA(Cricket Australia). CA issued one year ban to Smith and Warner where Bancroft ended up getting 9 months ban.
The investigation concluded exposing the real story behind the drama in the 3rd Test versus South Africa at Cape Town. It stated that David Warner was the master mind behind the ball tampering saga. According to reports, Warner suggested the plan of using an artificial object to tamper the ball and it was discussed during the lunch break of Day 4 of the test match. Steve Smith was silenced while discussing the plan and Bancroft had no choice left but to follow Warner. The report also stated that the head coach Darren Lehmann was not involved in this drama but it still seems to be quite suspicious.
ON FIELD : The Aussies were bowling and the commentator Fanie De Villiers felt something fishy when the Aussies were able to reverse swing the ball well on that pitch. So, he called upon the cameraman to check if any player was tampering the ball and they eventually found something suspicious with Bancroft. The cameraman exposed 'Bancroft using a sandpaper to rub off the ball' in the big screen. Darren Lehmann who sees that on the big screen contacted the substitute player Peter Handscomb through a walkie-talkie and Handscomb runs to Bancroft in the ground and has few words with him. Bancroft put that sandpaper inside his trousers and eventually, the umpire came to know about it and questioned Bancroft. However, the Aussies were able to manage the situation.
PRESS CONFERENCE: Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft attended the press conference with sad faces. Steve Smith honestly accepted the mistake and conveyed that the 'leadership council' was aware of the on field drama already. He apologized to all the cricket fans for involving in such an unhealthy act.
WHY BACKING SMITH? : The investigation results concluded that David Warner was the master mind of the plan and Bancroft was the one who implemented it. The reason for punishing Smith is "he didn't attempt to stop them". That's clearly unfair by Smith as he should have attempted to stop it despite knowing the plan. But it's really unfair to issue him one year ban for such act. Had Steve Smith denied any involvement like the former captains did, he would have been saved. Many ball tampering incidents have happened and it's too dumb to believe that it wasn't planned. As cricket analyst Aakash Chopra tweeted "You're naive to believe that other tampering incidents were not planned. Most of them were a part of a broader team tactic", it is very clear that Steve Smith could have escaped from the punishment claiming that he wasn't involved in it and it wasn't premeditated. Then, it would have end up with a very mild punishment for Bancroft. But the truth speaker Steve Smith admitted the truth and ended up facing harsh consequences. It is completely understood that Smith was an innocent in this case but the only mistake he did was speaking up the truth. Who the hell expected that being honest would yield you severe consequences! "Bad luck Smith"- that's all could be said now.
ICC took over the case of ball tampering by Aussies and punished Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steven Smith. However, the punishments were quite fair as Warner and Smith were issued one match ban and Bancroft was just fined. But the story was dug deep and few strange facts came out of the investigation conducted by CA(Cricket Australia). CA issued one year ban to Smith and Warner where Bancroft ended up getting 9 months ban.
The investigation concluded exposing the real story behind the drama in the 3rd Test versus South Africa at Cape Town. It stated that David Warner was the master mind behind the ball tampering saga. According to reports, Warner suggested the plan of using an artificial object to tamper the ball and it was discussed during the lunch break of Day 4 of the test match. Steve Smith was silenced while discussing the plan and Bancroft had no choice left but to follow Warner. The report also stated that the head coach Darren Lehmann was not involved in this drama but it still seems to be quite suspicious.
ON FIELD : The Aussies were bowling and the commentator Fanie De Villiers felt something fishy when the Aussies were able to reverse swing the ball well on that pitch. So, he called upon the cameraman to check if any player was tampering the ball and they eventually found something suspicious with Bancroft. The cameraman exposed 'Bancroft using a sandpaper to rub off the ball' in the big screen. Darren Lehmann who sees that on the big screen contacted the substitute player Peter Handscomb through a walkie-talkie and Handscomb runs to Bancroft in the ground and has few words with him. Bancroft put that sandpaper inside his trousers and eventually, the umpire came to know about it and questioned Bancroft. However, the Aussies were able to manage the situation.
PRESS CONFERENCE: Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft attended the press conference with sad faces. Steve Smith honestly accepted the mistake and conveyed that the 'leadership council' was aware of the on field drama already. He apologized to all the cricket fans for involving in such an unhealthy act.
WHY BACKING SMITH? : The investigation results concluded that David Warner was the master mind of the plan and Bancroft was the one who implemented it. The reason for punishing Smith is "he didn't attempt to stop them". That's clearly unfair by Smith as he should have attempted to stop it despite knowing the plan. But it's really unfair to issue him one year ban for such act. Had Steve Smith denied any involvement like the former captains did, he would have been saved. Many ball tampering incidents have happened and it's too dumb to believe that it wasn't planned. As cricket analyst Aakash Chopra tweeted "You're naive to believe that other tampering incidents were not planned. Most of them were a part of a broader team tactic", it is very clear that Steve Smith could have escaped from the punishment claiming that he wasn't involved in it and it wasn't premeditated. Then, it would have end up with a very mild punishment for Bancroft. But the truth speaker Steve Smith admitted the truth and ended up facing harsh consequences. It is completely understood that Smith was an innocent in this case but the only mistake he did was speaking up the truth. Who the hell expected that being honest would yield you severe consequences! "Bad luck Smith"- that's all could be said now.
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