Dark day in Aussie cricket

[xelasnave]

We need our sporting heros and we need them to be fallible and demonstrate that greatness is built upon doing that little extra to win over and above a timid reliance upon skill or some nonsense that wining comes from being decent.
And when one tries to judge a professional sportsman remember that they must cope in a world where they were never permitted to grow up and develop to do adult things and in effect were doomed the remain children with no real life experience indeed kept from reality by carers who pushed and encouraged them to believe that playing a game was the pinnacle of human achievement.
Imagine their distorted little worlds and how such an environment would drive one to various efforts to maintain attention from those original carers and now the wider group of carers we call the public.
How else but have a sook would you deal with problems given these folk never really got to grow up and found themselves always playing games and requiring outside attention as the only meaning in their unfortunate lives.
Alex

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

If like Smith and Warner, I suddenly lost

• $1.4M salary + $14k per match as Aussie Captain/VC,
• $2.5M as an IPL captain,
• goodness knows how much in endorsement contracts,

all due to a brain fart, I'd be crying on TV too.

Even worse, they are going to have to go to AMART and pay for their own cricket bats, pads, gloves and boxes to play club cricket.

Joe

[Orionskies (Julian)]

My thoughts on this is that this is definitely a cultural issue with in sports and these players are just reflecting the sad reality of our over importants on sporting Hero's.

Let's see a more balanced view of sports and less of it.

Imagine the NSW govt announcing 2 Billion to be spent on Science and the arts.

Cheers.

[el_draco (Rom)]

Originally Posted by OzEclipse

If like Smith and Warner, I suddenly lost

• $1.4M salary + $14k per match as Aussie Captain/VC,
• $2.5M as an IPL captain,
• goodness knows how much in endorsement contracts,

all due to a brain fart, I'd be crying on TV too.

Even worse, they are going to have to go to AMART and pay for their own cricket bats, pads, gloves and boxes to play club cricket.

Joe

Its about time Australia stopped calling muppets like these "hero's". They make millions of dollars hitting a ball with a stick. I hope the lesson has been learned... but somehow, I doubt it...

[gaseous (Patrick)]

Last week, news.com.au quoted "Australian Test Great, Gavin Robertson'... When playing 4 tests and averaging 20 with the bat and 40 with the ball propels you into the "test great" stratosphere, I think it demonstrates the ridiculous pedestals our sportspeople tend to inhabit in our minds. Or the news media's love of hyperbole.

[tlgerdes (Trevor)]

Make the punishment fit the crime.

If you are a rugby league or union player, a head high tackle gets you few weeks on the sideline, an offside position gets you a penalty. Both are against the rules, both are cheating.

Golf, you move your ball with your hand, penalty stroke . It's still cheating.

Swimming, you go on a team bender with stilnox, you get a fine and good behaviour clause.

Cricket, you plan to rough up the ball with some sandpaper to accelerate a condition that would happen naturally. 12 months out, let alone millions lost in salary and earnings.

Soccer, you feign a trip to get a penalty. Cheating and you get rewarded.

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

Make the punishment fit the crime.

If you are a rugby league or union player, a head high tackle gets you few weeks on the sideline, an offside position gets you a penalty. Both are against the rules, both are cheating.

Golf, you move your ball with your hand, penalty stroke . It's still cheating.

Swimming, you go on a team bender with stilnox, you get a fine and good behaviour clause.

Cricket, you plan to rough up the ball with some sandpaper to accelerate a condition that would happen naturally. 12 months out, let alone millions lost in salary and earnings.

Soccer, you feign a trip to get a penalty. Cheating and you get rewarded.

Totally agree!

[StuTodd]

Jeeeezz

We got beaten by the Black Caps. You think you've got it bad.
A dark day in English cricket...

Although one was a pantomime "pink ball test" to be honest...

[Rkonrad (Richard)]

Originally Posted by StuTodd

Jeeeezz

We got beaten by the Black Flaps. You think you've got it bad.
A dark day in English cricket...

Although one was a pantomime "pink ball test" to be honest...

The Black Caps did well to draw the last test

[Rkonrad (Richard)]

Originally Posted by PeterM

Totally agree!

I also agree punishment is crazy

[PeterM]

It's mainstream & social media driven mass hysteria, the so called cricketing public have followed like a herd of sheep. All 3 players should have copped a fine and a match ban. Done and dusted like every other sport as noted above, then get on with the game. All 3 players are very good cricketers, have done themselves and the country proud on numerous occasions and do not deserve this crap.

[speach (Simon)]

Now there's talk of reducing the penalties, I would like to see the three perpetrators banned for life. In my view what other countries that have had players do the same thing is up to that countries ruling body. Let us show a no tolerance policy and get the good name of Australian cricket back from the depths it has sunk to.

[sharpiel]

Originally Posted by speach

Now there's talk of reducing the penalties, I would like to see the three perpetrators banned for life. In my view what other countries that have had players do the same thing is up to that countries ruling body. Let us show a no tolerance policy and get the good name of Australian cricket back from the depths it has sunk to.

I think we all make mistakes in our lives and jobs. Even Darth Vader was allowed redemption.

[astroron (Ron)]

One thing that the people who say that they are being punished to harshly etc, forget one thing.
Cricket has always put itself above all the other sports as a game of honesty and fairness,after all were does the term "it aint cricket" when things are questionable come from?.
Smith, as captain turned away from his responsibility and allowed a corrupt act to occur under his captaincy.
Warner,as vice captain and supposed leader and planner of the offence was/is guilty of an intentional act of cheating and bringing the game into disrepute.
Bancroft has no defense as he was caught in the act in front of millions of people around the world.
That these three are the main culprits is irrefutable,but there are questions about others involved going forward.
One question I have not heard answered is who are involved as the leadership team?
Are Smith and Warner the only two people in the leadership team?
Smith himself said the Leadership Team agreed with the action,so if there are more than two people in the leadership team, then more heads should roll.
Cricket Australia and CEO James Sutherland are rushing to squash any further involvement of any other players.
Darren Lehmann says he didn't know,is he part of the leadership team?
Who is this leadership team made up of.?
I think there is a lot more to come out of this saga yet.
The three players were found guilty, and natural justice dictates they can appeal,lets see how that appeal goes.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

Make the punishment fit the crime.

If you are a rugby league or union player, a head high tackle gets you few weeks on the sideline, an offside position gets you a penalty. Both are against the rules, both are cheating.

Golf, you move your ball with your hand, penalty stroke . It's still cheating.

Swimming, you go on a team bender with stilnox, you get a fine and good behaviour clause.

Cricket, you plan to rough up the ball with some sandpaper to accelerate a condition that would happen naturally. 12 months out, let alone millions lost in salary and earnings.

Soccer, you feign a trip to get a penalty. Cheating and you get rewarded.

Norway, 70% of your athletes are "asthmatics" and took 10X the amount of anti-asthmatic drugs than even Finland at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and it's not dope/enhancement cheating...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ympics-success

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/gransknin...t-astmamedicin

[AndrewJ]

Its all irrelevant hyperbole pushed by the media at present.
If they hadnt gone overboard with the condemnations, the sheep that follow them wouldnt have been prodded into baaaaaa ing so loudly.
They all cheat in one way or another, the simple question is does the punishment fit the crime.
When many other high profile athletes got caught doing things, the courts basically say the humiliation is mostly enough of a punishment.
( plus a small fine and a game or 2 out )
These three have effectively been fined millions of dollars by being banned from doing their job.
I'm all for that, IF, the rest of the worlds players ( in all sports ) also get the same for "minor" indiscretions.
Not going to happen when there is a dollar in it
( same as our pollies/banks/lawyers/childcare operators/etc wont ever be punished for "cheating" )

Andrew

[astroron (Ron)]

The condemnation was not only the media"What do you mean by media?"
A very big percentage of the critics were their own peers and former players.
That the media reported what happened is their job and would be remiss if they did not report on it.
The public have a right to be indignant as this team has been at the forefront
of the holier-than-thou attitude for a long time.
Now the boot is on the other foot.
There are many jobs that one can loose one's livelihood if found to have transgressed,from prime ministers ,judges lawyers truck drivers etc.
These players would have/should have thought what could happen if caught,if they didn't then they just have to take the punishment.
As I said in my other post, this may not be the final punishment,it could be reduced on appeal.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

I can see both sides of the argument and don't really know which side I sit on I do think forgiveness and redemption are as important as punishment...so, given the shame and humiliation already experienced and that will persist for some time to come, I won't be too disappointed if their punishments are reduced...

Amen

[astroron (Ron)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

Norway, 70% of your athletes are "asthmatics" and took 10X the amount of anti-asthmatic drugs than even Finland at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and it's not dope/enhancement cheating...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ympics-success

https://www.svt.se/nyheter/gransknin...t-astmamedicin

I think Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificates are too easily distributed, and should not be administered by a team doctor,but by a separate medical body.
Also they should not be administered less than 48 hours before an event.
Team doctors are human and can easily be influenced.

[billdan (Bill)]

I thought Shane Warne was harshly treated by being banned for 12 months for taking weight reducing tablets. He was trying to lose weight not do a 100 metre dash in under 10 secs.