On Tuesday, the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for an end to sledging in cricket, saying it was “right out of control” as he emphasized that the game of cricket need to clean up its image amid a ball-tampering scandal.
Mr. Turnbull described the cheating trial in which skipper Steve Smith acknowledged to masterminding the conspiracy of ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa on Saturday as a “shocking affront to Australia”. He demanded Cricket Australia to take some strict actions while investigating the incident. The governing body is expected to provide an update on Wednesday.
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The Australian PM also added that officials needed to crack down on sledging – verbal abuse involving players on both sides – if it wanted cricket to “once again (be) held up as a role model.” He said, “I think there has to be the strongest action taken against this practice of sledging. It has got right out of control … it should have no place (in cricket). The game of cricket … should be one that once again is held up as a role model.”
The Test series between South Africa and Australia has been termed as the tour from hell for the Aussies even before Saturday’s explosive admissions. The first Test in Durban earlier this month was tormented by an ugly row between vice-captain David Warner and South Africa’s Quinton de Kock.
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The incident was reportedly over a jibe about Warner’s wife Candice, with the Australian describing the remark as “vile and disgusting”. Both the cricketers were punished for the bust-up with Warner fined 75 percent of his match fee and De Kock 25 percent.
In the recent Ashes series, there were some tensions been reported between Smith and England bowler James Anderson, with umpire Aleem Dar having to separate the pair when the Australian was batting. Anderson described the Aussies as bullies who overstepped the line ahead of the Adelaide Test, with Smith retorting that the Englishman was one of the biggest sledgers in the game.
