[PPS]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Shouldn't this match be declared unofficial?

Originally Posted by Sawyer

This is ICC at its worst; if CA does something a lot harsher, ICC is going to look very stupid.

Forget about declaring the match as unofficial , the umpires did not even change the ball this morning nor did they award any penalty runs as per the rules!

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Just one match ban and 100% match fees for the captain and 3 demerit points for such a major offence!!

ICC's decision to not award any ban to Bancroft will further encourage ball tampering! Modern day players not bothered about losing match fee.

Commonwealth Games will be held in Australia next month, the country's reputation has been tarnished after this Sandpapergate scandal & with their Prime Minister taking involvement in this, its not looking good !

Cricket Australia has an 'integrity unit' which has flown to SA to carry out an investigation. Seems like they were expecting something!

[Sawyer]

Having an integrity unit is fine; BCCI also has an anti corruption unit that recently cleared Shami. The problem is that these units swing into action to close the gate after the horse has bolted.

Even the new captain Tim Paine, after the past 24 hours, still does not get it - in saying "We need to control how we are seen as a team". It is not just the image, Tim.

In the past I have said that stump mics should be left on at higher gain through out the game to stop the sledging nonsense and here is a reason why:

"Perhaps Steve Smith and the Australian Cricket Team should complain there are too many cameras around the ground now. You know, to go along with the complaint that the microphones were too sensitive and picked up too much of the chatter (read nasty sledging)".

All the joy in the rest of the cricketing world is because the holier than thou talking Australians have been well impaled on their own sword now, in public view. And the rage in Australia is because the fans have been caught with their pants down with nowhere to hide given the public confession by the captain. That was the real sin - getting caught in such a foolish way that left the fans looking very foolish.

It is interesting to see that both Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, two of the biggest guilty captains, are silent. The only ex player that deserves to have a say, and has spoken his mind, is Adam Gilchrist, possibly the only Australian of recent decades to play the game in the right spirit.

[extreme_torque]

The Meme's have started flowing in. Jokes aside I am deeply disappointed. This is not how an average Australian conducts himself.

[Geo_Ipe]

Couldn't help posting this here!

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by PPS

Modern day players not bothered about losing match fee.

Yes, but the good thing is that they are very concerned about loss of sponsorship.

As when the Australian team/player sponsors have now started to put some distance between themselves and CA/Smith, asking for quick corrective actions. So there is something to be said for the involvement of business in cricket.

If Smith and Warner were to lose their upcoming IPL season - and I suspect that will happen almost automatically if CA bans them even for 6 months - that will both hurt them badly as well as send out strong messages. CA also has the opportunity here to set an example for other boards to follow in the future - let's see if they shoulder or duck that responsibility.

ICC is a lame duck that quacks once in a while, and nothing much will come from there.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Shouldn't this match be declared unofficial?

And deny us the wonderful sight of a disintegrated Aussie team getting thrashed in the middle ? No way !!!!

On a serious note, the ball should have been changed at tea when there were more details available.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Wow, a life ban being considered ? Now, that will be an overkill, considering the likes of Mohd Amir are playing again.

Originally Posted by harry10

Yes, life ban will be too harsh considering Amir is back to playing after fixing.

I think the Amir case is quite different. Amir was a kid when he committed the offense. A point the ICC did consider when deciding his punishment. Also he wasn't the captain, and neither was he a member of a well-paid, better equipped team from a more 'developed' nation.

IMHO an older, better educated, much better off captain from a team like Australia cannot be judged by the same standards. The punishment should be harsher for Smith and Warner.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by am1m

I think the Amir case is quite different. Amir was a kid when he committed the offense. A point the ICC did consider when deciding his punishment. Also he wasn't the captain, and neither was he a member of a well-paid, better equipped team from a more 'developed' nation.

IMHO an older, better educated, much better off captain from a team like Australia cannot be judged by the same standards. The punishment should be harsher for Smith and Warner.

I disagree. He was an adult and playing for his country. Which country and education levels does not matter at all.

And his punishment should have been harsher compared to Smith and Co.

[Nonstop-driver]

I partially agree with am1m. This case is a team cheating as a unit. In a match? In an year? Since few years? We wouldn't know. Amir's case was a bowler going rebel. Remember, Stuart did make a similar allegation about the Ashes after SandpaperGate became public. The quantum of punishment should be announced after making required inquiries in last few series.

[Eddy]

Hmmm, I think we can agree to disagree then. IMO, spot / match fixing where you get paid and play to lose is a lot worse than ball tampering and the punishments should be harsher for the former.

[Sawyer]

I agree that mitigating circumstances must always be considered in deciding the punishment and the same act isn't of the same consequence in every case. Indeed, leaving aside the correctness of the ICC punishment handed out in this case, they did get that part of it right in taking a more lenient view of Bancroft's crime. Also, delivering a no ball at an otherwise inconsequential moment is very far from throwing a match.

Smith has stepped down from the RR captaincy, and Rahane to take his place. Something similar should come from Warner soon.

[harry10]

Originally Posted by am1m

I think the Amir case is quite different. Amir was a kid when he committed the offense. A point the ICC did consider when deciding his punishment. Also he wasn't the captain, and neither was he a member of a well-paid, better equipped team from a more 'developed' nation.

IMHO an older, better educated, much better off captain from a team like Australia cannot be judged by the same standards. The punishment should be harsher for Smith and Warner.

If you are old enough to take money for cheating then you are old enough for harsh punishments too. Someone playing for their country isn't a kid anymore. In my opinion Amir should have been banned for life but then ICC is a joke of a body. Country origin doesn't matter, cheater is a cheater.
The main issue for Australian public is now the world has proof of their Infamous Aussie teams arrogance and we can get away with anything attitude. This is making all Aussie fans mad and because of this CA may have to give Smith etc a ban, minimum 1 year I guess.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by harry10

In my opinion Amir should have been banned for life but then ICC is a joke of a body. Country origin doesn't matter, cheater is a cheater.

The main issue for Australian public is now the world has proof of their Infamous Aussie teams arrogance and we can get away with anything attitude. This is making all Aussie fans mad and because of this CA may have to give Smith etc a ban, minimum 1 year I guess.

Did Amir throw a match? Or just overstep on the specific ball of an over to fix the spot fixing sport?! It seems to me that his crime was not so much against cricket as much as against the fairness in spot betting! And the more appropriate punishment would have come to him from that mafia and it would mean life in a literal way. Seeing him bowl these days, I for one am happy that he was not banned for life by the ICC or punished by that mafia. When on song, he is a class act. In comparison, Smith is an effective but ugly batsman.

I agree that almost all of the rage and even hysteria in Australia on the present issue is for the quoted reasons. Aussie fans have lost huge amount of face and will not now be able to accuse darkies of cheating. Or pommies of whingeing. For that loss, some one has to pay a high price, it seems. And for making Australia look stupid and clumsy as well.

But that debate apart, this universal rage should at least satisfy those that think that all Australians are happy with their team and endorse its behaviour as long as it wins, and Indian fans that are critical of the Indian team's behaviour from time to time should try to emulate that behaviour as well, and that if the only way India can win is by playing equally ugly, that is the way to go about the game, spirit of cricket be damned.

There are some Australians who even think that:

"The failure of leadership of the captain and of Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland stamp them as manifestly unfit to hold their positions. That neither seems to grasp that is even more reprehensible."

PS: On a different note, the Indian women seem to be doing their best to prove that they are being overpaid. This kind of performance may set the sport in India back for several years.

[selfdrive]

Fantastic win by NZ in the last session of Day 5. For a while, it seemed like england's favorite ally, rain, would play a decisive part along with some stern stuff by Ben Stokes.
What an impact bowler that Neil Wagner is. I hope that he is able to maintain his fitness and speeds enough to last for a few years.

It is good to see everyone's second favorite team do well. They are building quite a fortress at home of late.

[Sawyer]

One reads about Smith and how he fell and how far he fell from being the golden boy to the worst villain in Australian cricket in just a few hours of one day and one feels sorry for the man and even more, for his family.

On the other hand, it is very unlikely that he was caught at his very first attempt - as he claims - to cheat. One has to be very unlucky for that to happen.

There is a lesson there for every famous cricketer, of how easily all may be lost in the modern era. With high rewards comes high visibility and with that, come severe consequences for misbehaviour.