ICC opened itself to charges of racism following the slap on the wrist given to Steve Smith
If Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had not gone apoplectic with rage and made calls to Cricket Australia to stand down Steve Smith and David Warner, the former Australian skipper and vice-captain might have gotten away with the most blatant case of cheating in recent test cricket history. As it is, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has left itself open to huge allegations of being a racist organisation with a colonial hangover with its decision to ban Smith for only one game after he admitted using Cameron Bancroft to cheat by hiding a piece of sandpaper to rough up the ball — an incident and the subsequent cover-up that were caught on camera. Smith is a cheat, plain and simple. During the tour of India last year, he used another youngster Peter Handscomb to gesture to the dressing room to find out whether he should use the Decision Review System (DRS). He explained that away as a ‘brain fade’; but anybody who has dealt with endemic cheaters know that they tend to brush aside events when they are caught rather than truly atone for their actions. The reason the ball was being ‘roughed up’ was to gain ‘reverse swing’ for fast bowlers, a mysterious art wherein the ball swings the wrong way. This is so difficult to master and even teach that the original proponent of the skill, Waqar Younis of Pakistan hasn’t found his heir. One way to try and ensure reverse swing and bamboozle batsmen was doing what Bancroft was caught doing.
Ball-tampering is not a new phenomenon and was endemic through the past few decades. That said, the fact that cricketers, and not just Australians who keep on doing, it is stupefying. Particularly given that the number of cameras in a cricket match has grown from a couple to over a hundred. And most ball-tampering attempts, even the one that South African captain Faf du Plessis, is accused of are usually shoddy amatuer attampts, rarely planned with a hidden piece of sandpaper and then covered-up when asked about it. This incident has rightly angered many Australians who hold their sports stars and especially their cricket team on a high pedestal. And it is not just about performance but also ‘ethics’ and the Australian team and their media acolytes are the first to bring up the ‘spirit of cricket’ debate whenever someone else does anything wrong. This was of course evident when the Indian team travelled to Australia in 2007-08 when Harbhajan Singh was accused of abusing Andrew Symonds. The ICC came down like a ton of bricks on the Indian team with little evidence and the Australian media baying for Bhajji’s blood. During the current tour of South Africa, Smith even attacked the ICC’s duplicity in not punishing the Proteas strike bowler Kasigo Rabada for a small offence. This adds weight to English all-rounder Stuart Broad’s comment that the Australians do not like it if someone comes after them and that the ‘spirit of cricket’ is invoked if anyone does. Broad reminded everyone that the current Australian coach Darren lehmann had asked Australian crowds to jeer Broad and send him home crying during the 2013-14 Ashes. Thankfully, Broad was made of sterner stuff. The ICC should push Cricket Australia to punish the concerned individuals but also take suo moto action against Smith and others in his team who cheated, although one is willing to give Bancroft some benefit of doubt, as a newcomer in the team you do what your captain says. But in India too, we can take action. Smith and Warner, who are both captains in Indian Premier league franchises should have their contracts scrapped. If cricket has to come out unscathed, action has to be taken and Cricket Australia must learn lessons.