After an emotional press-conference after coming back home in Sydney, the disgraced Australian captain Steve Smith managed to gather a lot of sympathies on Friday and also because of the severity of bans handed out in a ball-tampering scandal. Smith’s tearful appearance in front of media also encouraged the head coach Darren Lehmann to announce his resignation. Both Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft for nine months for ball-tampering during the third Test in Cape Town.
Lehmann said he was moved and decided to step down after listening to the emotional apologies of Bancroft and Smith. He said, ”Dear Australia, that’s enough now. This was ball-tampering, not murder.”
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Australia’s legendary spinner Shane Warne wrote in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph: “We are all so hurt and angry and maybe we weren’t so sure how to react. We’d just never seen it before. But the jump to hysteria is something that has elevated the offense beyond what they actually did, and maybe we’re at a point where the punishment just might not fit the crime.”
Former English skipper Michael Vaughan tweeted tha Smith and Bancroft, who also faced media on Thursday, were “decent guys who had a moment of madness. They deserve a 2nd chance and hopefully get the right support around them now .. Takes a lot of guts to do what they did today.”
‘Good people make mistakes’ .. I honestly think Steve Smith & Cam Bancroft are decent guys who had a moment of madness .. they deserve a 2nd chance and hopefully get the right support around them now .. Takes a lot guts to do what they did today ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 29, 2018
The Australian Cricketers’ Association has raised their concerns over the benefit of the players and argued that the sanctions were over the top compared to other sanctions for ball-tampering. The statement released by ACA, read, ”There are a number of glaring and clear anomalies in the process to date which causes the ACA to query the severity and proportionality of the proposed sanctions.”
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The repercussions of the ball-tampering fiasco seem to be increasing for CA, as they have hit by a departure of sponsors and uncertainty surrounding current broadcast rights negotiations. CA’s losses include an estimated Aus$20 million (US$15 million) partnership with naming rights sponsor Magellan Following the ongoing fourth Test in Johannesburg, with Tim Paine as stand-in skipper, Australia’s next assignment is an ODI series in England that starts in June.
Former Test opener Justin Langer is a strong favorite to become Lehmann’s successor, although reports said Australia could appoint a separate coach for the ODI and Twenty20 teams.
