"TrouserGate" - Australian Cricketers Caught Ball Tampering

[CaptJCool]

That’s a great ad isn’t it. I realise I roll my eyes just like the way the guy does when his partner/spouse/wife first mentions she’s got a message from Comm bank.

For me the cricket issue is worse than the rest. It was a plan. Devised by the Team Leaders. Involved a number of players. They selected the most vulnerable. Pretty p poor.

This rot started at Hobart 2016 when the fresh vulnerable faces (Voges, Burns, Nevill, Ferguson & Mennie) were banished two of them after one test match, du pleiss found guilty of zipper usage on the ball and New faces introduced..... (Maddison, Handscomb, Renshaw, wade and Bird)
I know I would have preferred Adelaide in November than the wet Hobart track......

And OFTEN the senior players are ACTUALLY the PROBLEM

 

[Pushka]

This rot started at Hobart 2016 when the fresh vulnerable faces (Voges, Burns, Nevill, Ferguson & Mennie) were banished two of them after one test match, du pleiss found guilty of zipper usage on the ball and New faces introduced..... (Maddison, Handscomb, Renshaw, wade and Bird)
I know I would have preferred Adelaide in November than the wet Hobart track......

And OFTEN the senior players are ACTUALLY the PROBLEM

I know Renshaw and his parents. He would not have participated. Nor would Callum Fergusson. Don’t personally know the others. Maybe that’s why they were dropped. Makes sense now.

 

[rock86]

This rot started at Hobart 2016 when the fresh vulnerable faces (Voges, Burns, Nevill, Ferguson & Mennie) were banished two of them after one test match, du pleiss found guilty of zipper usage on the ball and New faces introduced..... (Maddison, Handscomb, Renshaw, wade and Bird)
I know I would have preferred Adelaide in November than the wet Hobart track......

And OFTEN the senior players are ACTUALLY the PROBLEM

The culture change started before that, it was when one person was appointed.

As much as people may bark and cry and call for the witch hunt, what will happen is that Smith & Warner will lose their respective C & VC roles, probably for good, they'll probably miss an additional test or maybe a ODI series. I'd hazard a guess that Lehman will get the chop as well.

That is a pretty fair punishment for them all as well, if you don't think so and think there should be year bans, your letting emotion get in the way of rationality.

 

[drron]

The real problem for Cricket Australia is they are negotiating the TV rights in the near future.May be some big bucks disappear.

 

[rock86]

The real problem for Cricket Australia is they are negotiating the TV rights in the near future.May be some big bucks disappear.

I doubt it'll have too much affect Drron, Big Bash's popularity has ensured they'll still have plenty of interest.

 

[Pushka]

The culture change started before that, it was when one person was appointed.

As much as people may bark and cry and call for the witch hunt, what will happen is that Smith & Warner will lose their respective C & VC roles, probably for good, they'll probably miss an additional test or maybe a ODI series. I'd hazard a guess that Lehman will get the chop as well.

That is a pretty fair punishment for them all as well, if you don't think so and think there should be year bans, your letting emotion get in the way of rationality.

The issue for CA is that major sponsors are pulling the strings. TV rights are being negotiated. I’d say 90% of Australians are disgusted. There’s more to this than just the cricket.

Big bash doesn’t pull the international crowd. Australia was highly regarded in the ICC arena. Their bullish behaviour was tolerated while they were clean but no longer. Lehman the issue you think? Guess he was a bit old standard. Be interested to hear Rod Marsh’s opinion. He tried to stop the underarm ball.

 

[rock86]

The issue for CA is that major sponsors are pulling the strings. TV rights are being negotiated. I’d say 90% of Australians are disgusted. There’s more to this than just the cricket.

If there was a betting option, I'd bet my house that no sponsors pull the pin, CA will likely relieve Smith, Warner & Lehman of their leadership positions. If that isn't enough as I've said before, people are clearly too emotional and not being rational about punishment.

Big bash doesn’t pull the international crowd. Australia was highly regarded in the ICC arena. Their bullish behaviour was tolerated while they were clean but no longer.

Big Bash doesn't need to pull an international audience, the majority of CA's broadcast money comes from domestic broadcasters - Big Bash will fall under that category, and there have been several broadcasters who want a piece of the Big Bash pie due to it's massive popularity. This incident won't change that.

Lehman the issue you think? Guess he was a bit old standard. Be interested to hear Rod Marsh’s opinion. He tried to stop the underarm ball.

Most definitely. While these blokes are all men and need to be better, Lehman definitely brings an attitude of win at all costs and worry about consequences later. While he may not have been the person behind this, under his tenure the attitude & culture of the team has certainly regressed.

 

[JohnK]

The culture change started under Lehman and has continued with the sledging culminating with the latest incident.

There's more to the story than just Smith and Bancroft. Time for change.

 

[Pushka]

If there was a betting option, I'd bet my house that no sponsors pull the pin, CA will likely relieve Smith, Warner & Lehman of their leadership positions. If that isn't enough as I've said before, people are clearly too emotional and not being rational about punishment.



Big Bash doesn't need to pull an international audience, the majority of CA's broadcast money comes from domestic broadcasters - Big Bash will fall under that category, and there have been several broadcasters who want a piece of the Big Bash pie due to it's massive popularity. This incident won't change that.



Most definitely. While these blokes are all men and need to be better, Lehman definitely brings an attitude of win at all costs and worry about consequences later. While he may not have been the person behind this, under his tenure the attitude & culture of the team has certainly regressed.

CA will not risk losing their sponsors. So our theories won’t be tested. They will act to ensure they don’t. Big Bash popularity waned a little this year. Unless there is a purge then parents won’t likely be bothering to go.

 

[rock86]

CA will not risk losing their sponsors. So our theories won’t be tested. They will act to ensure they don’t. Big Bash popularity waned a little this year. Unless there is a purge then parents won’t likely be bothering to go.

The crowds were similar, but I swear the TV audiences were larger for the season? That's all the networks are really worried about, surely.

 

[Pushka]

The crowds were similar, but I swear the TV audiences were larger for the season? That's all the networks are really worried about, surely.

Let me show you something scary



I think the issue is that B.B. isn’t shown during a ratings period.

 

[kelvedon]

Smith has just resigned as captain of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL which starts on 7th April

 

[Milboo]

Smith has just resigned as captain of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL which starts on 7th April

Resigned or resigned?

One word - 2 very different outcomes!!

 

[sjk]

I haven't played 14 first-class matches and my country of origin will probably never make it above Division 5, but I feel that Cricket Australia "gets it" more than some people who have been invoking the "yeah, yeah, but, but, other people, on other teams, in the past..." defence. At least I hope so, because the backlash from cricket moms such as myself would not be pretty if the penalties turn out to be little more than a slap on the wrist.

I might not be up to speed, but to my knowledge it's still not 100% clear what was said when Bancroft showed the black sunglasses case or cloth or whatever it is. Best case scenario for Australia would be that he said something like "You don't want to look inside my jocks as well, do you?" And it was moderately commendable that they admitted to it so quickly (once caught); as Michael Vaughan said, England probably wouldn't have let anyone face the media if in a similar position.

But if Bancroft straight out lied to the umpires there with his captain standing next to him... seriously not a good look, and I would expect CA to consider those sort of optics when it comes to something like that, just as their sponsors will.

Having spoken to other cricket parents today, I think it would be unwise to underestimate the impact of this sort of thing at the grass-roots level. And I doubt CA will. On Tuesday one of the parents said something in reference to the sledging along the lines of "I wish they'd just shut up and play cricket", but unfortunately they didn't really do either.

 

[rock86]

I haven't played 14 first-class matches and my country of origin will probably never make it above Division 5, but I feel that Cricket Australia "gets it" more than some people who have been invoking the "yeah, yeah, but, but, other people, on other teams, in the past..." defence. At least I hope so, because the backlash from cricket moms such as myself would not be pretty if the penalties turn out to be little more than a slap on the wrist.

I might not be up to speed, but to my knowledge it's still not 100% clear what was said when Bancroft showed the black sunglasses case or cloth or whatever it is. Best case scenario for Australia would be that he said something like "You don't want to look inside my jocks as well, do you?" And it was moderately commendable that they admitted to it so quickly (once caught); as Michael Vaughan said, England probably wouldn't have let anyone face the media if in a similar position.

But if Bancroft straight out lied to the umpires there with his captain standing next to him... seriously not a good look, and I would expect CA to consider those sort of optics when it comes to something like that, just as their sponsors will.

Having spoken to other cricket parents today, I think it would be unwise to underestimate the impact of this sort of thing at the grass-roots level. And I doubt CA will. On Tuesday one of the parents said something in reference to the sledging along the lines of "I wish they'd just shut up and play cricket", but unfortunately they didn't really do either.

So what would you consider sufficient, if it's for them to be outed for the game for a lengthy period, you are completely off the mark and it will not happen.

But if it is Smith & co losing their leadership roles more then likely for good, and the most likely option, then you'd be on the money.

You may not like that comparisons are drawn, but contrary to your belief, this is not an isolated incident in world cricket and the players have the right for CA to assess the situation on a reasonable ground (not the emotive language being thrown all over the place) and this will include looking at similar situations where past precedence has been set.

If people don't realise how much it is going to gut Smith & Warner (and probably Lehman) losing their leadership roles and having that hang over them the ret of their career, and how severe a punishment that is, then they really aren't thinking too clearly themselves.

 

[Pushka]

But CA have 2 objectives. If necessary punish the main culprits and second, repair damage this has done to the perception of Australia as a great sporting nation. Maybe 3, ensure there is no financial fall out from sponsors and TV rights. I’d suggest that places it in a position that is quite unique and comparison is not so relevant.

 

[kelvedon]

Resigned or resigned?

One word - 2 very different outcomes!!

definatly resigned as in relinquished, vacated, quit, renounced, ceded, abalienate. (had to look up that last one!)

 

[rock86]

But CA have 2 objectives. If necessary punish the main culprits and second, repair damage this has done to the perception of Australia as a great sporting nation. Maybe 3, ensure there is no financial fall out from sponsors and TV rights. I’d suggest that places it in a position that is quite unique and comparison is not so relevant.

While CA do need to punish and by so repair some 'visual damage', it still needs to treat its employees (players) fairly. So as much as the enraged people might hate hearing it, this will also involve logically looking at the situation and past precedent from similar situations will factor into their ultimate decisions.

Losing your role as C & VC (and probably coach) of the Australian cricket team is a massive, massive punishment and something they will have to bear for the rest of their careers.

I don't see how any reasonable person wouldn't see this as an appropriate punishment.

 

[rock86]

One other thing to add is that I doubt the ACA would support a lengthy ban, so CA would also need to contend with them.

 

[kelvedon]

If people don't realise how much it is going to gut Smith & Warner (and probably Lehman) losing their leadership roles and having that hang over them the ret of their career, and how severe a punishment that is, then they really aren't thinking too clearly themselves.

I think C A's primary task is to minimise the damage, both financial and reputational, and the personal feelings of Smith, Warner (and probably Lehman) would be very secondary.