Right: umpires were alerted by a cameraman's close-up of Bancroft's actions. They approached the player and his captain on the field, seeking an explanation.
Arguments suggesting the response to Australia's ball-tampering has been appropriate
1. Ball-tampering is an attempt to gain unfair advantage and is cheating Cricket emphasises 'fair play'. It is not only controlled by a set of rules but, according to the sport's laws, should also be played 'within the spirit of cricket'. This 'spirit' encourages respect for players and officials while advocating self-discipline. On field, the over-riding responsibility for ensuring fair play rests with the captains. Referring specifically to ball-tampering, law 41.3 identifies changing the condition of the match ball as 'unfair play', stating, 'It is an offence for any player to take any action which changes the condition of the ball.'  In a comment published in The Conversation on March 26, 2018, Keith Parry, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Western Sydney University; Emma Kavanagh, Senior Lecturer in Sports Psychology and Coaching Sciences, Bournemouth University and Steven Freeland, Dean, School of Law and Professor of International Law, Western Sydney University demonstrate why ball-tampering is cheating. The three explain roughening the ball's surface on one side can alter its flight through the air and lift off the pitch, making it harder for the batsman to hit. This altered movement is referred to as 'reverse swing'. Such strategic, deliberate ball tampering is illegal. As outlined in cricket's code of conduct, 'any action(s) likely to alter the condition of the ball... may be regarded as "unfair". The following actions shall not be permitted... deliberately throwing the ball into the ground for the purpose of roughening it up; applying any artificial substance to the ball; and applying any non-artificial substance for any purpose other than to polish the ball; lifting or otherwise interfering with any of the seams of the ball; scratching the surface of the ball with finger or thumb nails or any implement.' The authors of the March 26, 2018 comment in The Conversation concluded, 'The plot to tamper with the ball was a clear attempt to cheat and has brought the spirit of cricket into question.' In an opinion piece published on the ABC site on March 26, Daryl Adair stated, 'There are two elements to fair play: competing within the rules and doing so within the spirit of the game...Steve Smith's actions in South Africa take the win-at-all-costs mentality into another realm. Not only is ball tampering contrary to the spirit of the game, it is decidedly against the rules...' 2. The offence was deliberate and premeditated Those who believe the condemnation and punishment the players received were appropriate stress the offence instigated by Warner; committed by Bancroft and supported by Smith was deliberate and premeditated. The Cricket Australia investigation discovered the plan to use sandpaper to roughen the ball's surface was devised by vice-captain David Warner. It was further discovered Warner enlisted a junior player, Cameron Bancroft, to undertake this ball altering and showed the younger player how to do so. Steve Smith was found to have had knowledge of the plan, to have failed to act against it and to have attempted to cover it up.Among charges Cricket Australia has brought against David Warner are: 'development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball; instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan to take steps to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper; provision of advice to a junior player regarding how a ball could be artificially altered including demonstrating how it could be done and failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and/or implementation of the plan.' Among other offences, Steve Smith was charged by Cricket Australia with: 'knowledge of a potential plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball; failure to take steps to seek to prevent the development and implementation of that plan and directing that evidence of attempted tampering be concealed on the field of play'. The players' critics particularly condemned Warner. Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, stated of Warner, 'The revelations from Cricket Australia on Wednesday that he was the mastermind of the plot and had told Bancroft to cheat were damning... The fact that he had also shown Bancroft how to do so by using sandpaper to scuff one side of the ball suggests...that this was not the first time he had done it.' Former Australian coach and fast bowler, Jason Gillespie, stated Warner and Smith are unfit for future leadership. Gillespie declared, 'New leaders will rise up and take the side forward. But it will not be Smith and it will not be Warner.' Warner and Smith have also been condemned for embroiling a junior team member into this illegal act. On March 26, 2018, Sam Clench, writing for news.com.au stated, 'Having decided to cheat...Smith...threw the most junior member of his team under the bus.' Though Bancroft has been seen as less culpable, supporters of his punishment argue this is only because of his inexperience. Greg Baum, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, on March 25, 2018, stated, 'He is both perpetrator and victim here, the junior in the team, the mule, the bag carrier. But that does not make him an innocent, and he knows it. He is a professional sportsman.' Critics of his behaviour further note his principal compunction was fear of being detected. He stated, 'I'll be honest with you, I was obviously nervous about it because with hundreds of cameras around that's always the risk, isn't it?' 3. The players involved initially lied about what they had done Not only did the players concerned cheat in a premeditated, calculated manner, they lied when questioned about their actions. Critics have argued this calls their supposed contrition into doubt and further justifies the punishments issued. Smith and Bancroft, in their first interview after being detected ball-tampering, claimed that tape to which turf had been stuck was used to roughen the ball. Sandpaper was the actual abrasive. This lie has been seen as an attempt to reduce the seriousness of their actions. In an comment published by the ABC on March 29, 2018, Geoff Lemon states, 'On the third night of that match, after television had picked up Cameron Bancroft's less-than-subtle renovation work...he came to a press conference with his captain, Smith. They sat and faced us looking grave and anxious and strained. They shifted in their chairs and averted their eyes. They said how sorry they were...how determined to overcome this error and better themselves. And they were lying. Even in that moment of commitment to a more honourable future, they were following a calculated plan to whittle down the consequences. Bancroft and Smith lied about using sticky tape and dirt on the ball, in an attempt to make their effort look hasty and impulsive. They cited a "leadership group" to avoid implicating Warner, and they dated the idea to that day's lunch break to avert the impression of longer-term premeditation.' David Warner has been criticised for refusing to be explicit when publicly interviewed about his role in the ball-tampering. Warner said he took responsibility for his actions but did not say if he was the chief architect or if other teammates were involved. Veteran sports commentator Caroline Wilson states, 'I was just so sorry that he chose to take questions but refused to answer any afterwards. It took away the credibility because it suddenly sounded scripted.' ABC sports commentator Geoff Lemon concluded by emphasising the cricketers' repeated lying. Lemon writes, 'The issue isn't just that Australian cricketers hatched a plan to cheat. It's that they returned to the dressing room, chastened at being caught, then hashed out another plan to cheat the consequences. Now we can't trust the national team, regard everyone's statements with suspicion and have no idea if the worst interpretations are true. If there was sympathy before, it has evaporated. A year's ban doesn't get much fairer than this.' 4. Australia expects its cricket champions to act as role models Supporters of the bans imposed on Smith, Warner and Bancroft and of the public condemnation they have received argue the trio have violated their obligations to Cricket Australia, international cricket, Australian cricket fans and the world cricket community. Cricket Australia charged all three with bringing the game into 'disrepute'. Their critics argue that the positions they held as national sporting representatives required them to act as role models. Australia's Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, stated, ' We all work up this morning shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa. It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating. After all, our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play. How can our team be engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief.' The Prime Minister was expressing the shattered trust the players' actions had caused. They had behaved in a manner completely contrary to that their contracts and national and international expectations require. The Australian Sports Commission(ASC) elaborated on the obligations of international sporting competitors and the punishments they should expect. The Commission stated, ' The ASC condemns cheating of any form in sport. The ASC expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country. The Australian cricket team are iconic representatives of our country. The example they set matters a great deal to Australia and to the thousands of young Australians playing or enjoying the sport of cricket and who look up to the national team as role models. Given the admission by Australian captain Steve Smith, the ASC calls for him to be stood down immediately by Cricket Australia, along with any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness of, or involvement in, the plan to tamper with the ball.' Former England captain, Alistair Cook, stated, 'It's sad for cricket. The guys who are in the limelight have a responsibility to play cricket in the right way... We have to play by the rules. As captain, you are responsible for the other 10 guys and are the public figure for that.' 5. The ball-tampering is part of a larger pattern of unsportsmanlike behaviour Critics of the Australian cricketers argue their misconduct is merely the most extreme instance of an established pattern of unsportsmanlike behaviour. They argue strong action must be taken now to change this culture. Some defenders of the Australian cricketers have claimed that general criticism of the way Australia plays cricket comes from disgruntled competitors. However, many of these complaints come from within Australia. On April 1, 2018, the ABC's national sports editor, David Mark, stated, ' The cheating and lying that was central to the ball-tampering episode - and by extension the desperate need to win at all costs - points to something that has been severely lacking in Australian sport in recent years and possibly decades: Civility... At the heart of the sporting contest is the idea of fairness and civility. We embrace the even contest, where one competitor can beat another by virtue of their greater skill. We shake the hand of the winner, congratulate them and celebrate the effort that everyone has made.' Mark further argues Australian cricket and Australian sport in general are characterised by unsportsmanlike behaviour. ' We Australians like to kid ourselves that we're tough but fair, that we don't cross the mythical line. It's the others who are the cheaters, the drug-takers, the thugs. But we all know that's rubbish. Australian sport has long been full of ugly examples of a win-at-all-costs attitude. Cheating, violence, the use of performance-enhancing drugs, sledging, racism and other forms of vilification: You'll find it in any sport at any level.' Similarly, Robert Craddock, in a comment published in the Courier Mail on March 25, 2018, stated, 'The ball tampering affair was not a moment of madness. It was the culmination of a grubby win-at-all-costs culture deliberately crossing the thin line between self-righteous rule bending into a world of shameless, bald-faced cheating. Having teased and taunted and demeaned opposition sides for years Australia developed such a shallow respect for the spirit of the game that it decided a little bit of cheating would not go astray.' |
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