It will be difficult for Australia's besmirched cricketers to reclaim their reputations when the dust settles on the ball-tampering scandal but the episode is nonetheless a chance for the team to reclaim some of its lost principles and values, feels former batsman Michael Hussey.
"I feel like we've lost sight of some of these principles in recent years...there are some very good people representing Australia at the moment — but the ball tampering issue isn't the first time the team as a collective has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons," Hussey wrote for playersvoice.com.au.
"The next few days, weeks and months will be difficult for Australian cricket. Jobs might be lost and heavy sanctions handed down," said Hussey, who represented Australia in 79 Tests, 185 ODIs and 38 T20 Internationals, accumulating 22,783 runs across formats.
"...this period will also present the team with a chance to reset. Our values. Our team culture. Our true north...We played hard, certainly, but also positively and fairly."
"Organisations — both within cricket and in the wider business community — remember these things after you've finished playing. When they're assessing whether to sign you, they're taking into account your character, your reputation and whether you enhance their brand," he said.
"Those things take years and years to build and moments to lose. And once they're gone, they can be difficult to reclaim," he added.
‘ban too harsh’
Sydney: Spin legend Shane Warne feels that the punishment handed out to the captain Steve Smith and his two teammates after their involvement in ball tampering was a bit too harsh. "I am still trying to wrestle with what I think the punishment should be. They have to be harsh, but if they are rubbed out for a year, the punishment does not fit the crime," Warne wrote in his column for The Herald Sun.
Warne said that the players' embarrassing act called for a hefty fine but not a 12-month ban. "let's take the emotion out of it. We are all feeling angry and embarrassed. But you need a level head and you shouldn't destroy someone unless they deserve to be destroyed. Their actions were indefendable, and they need to be severely punished. But I don't think a one-year ban is the answer.
"My punishment would have been to miss the fourth Test match, a huge fine, and be sacked as captain and vice-captain. But they should still be allowed to play," he felt.
The punishment is way too harsh but the crime committed on the field cannot be condoned," said the legendary leg-spinner.