Australian captain Steve Smith with vice-captain David Warner
Australia skipper Steve Smith has come under fire after admitting to ball-tampering, revealing the leadership group planned it during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. It was Australian opener Cameron Bancroft, who landed in troubled waters on Saturday after he was caught on camera hiding a yellow sandpaper, which he used to tamper the ball on Day 3 of the third Test.
Cricket Australia took no extra time in announcing that the board would investigate the ball-tampering scandal. Observing all this, the Australian government asked the board to relieve Smith of his role as captain. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull felt that the person who leads the men that wear the baggy green should be responsible for his actions, which is 'shocking'. (Read full story)
The entire episode attracted worldwide attention and from fans to cricket pundits and former players, all launched a scathing attack on the Australian national cricket team's captain after his ball-tampering scandal is being called a 'national day of shame' by several cricketers.
Here's who said what on the Australian ball-tampering row
Michael Clarke wanted this to be just a nightmare
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke hoped that the news that he heard was just a 'dream'. "WHAT THE ........ HAVE I JUST WOKEN UP TO. Please tell me this is a bad dream," he tweeted.
Dale Steyn was the one who wanted to talk about this
It was South Africa pacer Dale Steyn who take it to social media for the first time after he witnessed Bancroft up to something unusual. Sharing a picture of Bancroft caught in wrongdoing, Steyn asked, "Can we talk about this?"
According to Michael Vaughan, Smith & Co will all be known "cheating"
Former England captain Michael Vaughan was seen scathing in his criticism of the Australians. "Steve Smith, his Team and ALL the management will have to accept that whatever happens in their careers they will all be known for trying to CHEAT the game," Vaughan tweeted.
Jimmy Maher named it Australia's "national day of shame"
Former Australia batsman Jimmy Maher called it a national day of shame for the country "and for the entire cricket world."
While Nasser Hussain accused Australia of a double standard
Former England captain, Nasser Hussain, accused Australia of a double standard, saying: "The Australian camp has been lecturing people lately on how the game should be played and a line that shouldn't be crossed," Hussain told Britain's Sky Sports. "Some of the stuff that has come out of the Australian camp, especially, has been laughable.
"Well, it looks like they're on the wrong side of the line here. It looks terrible, a premeditated move to get reverse swing and a blatant attempt to ball tamper," he added.
Shane Warne claimed the Australian sides he played in never did anything like this
Former Australia legspinner Shane Warne said: "I don't care who you are, you can't tamper with the ball. I know the Australian sides I played in never did anything like that."
He tweeted: "Very disappointed with the pictures I saw on our coverage here in Cape Town. If proven the alleged ball tampering is what we all think it is - then I hope Steve Smith (Captain) & Darren Lehmann (Coach) do the press conference to clean this mess up!"
Allan Border sees no escape for Steve Smith
Former Australian captain Allan Border expressed a message for under fire Smith: "You're kidding yourself if you think you can get away with that."
Jeff Thomson didn't shy to call Smith and his boys "spoilt brats"
Former Australian cricketer Jeff Thomson called Smith and his so-called leadership group full of spoilt brats, adding that it's a slur on everyone who's ever played cricket.
"I know there's been some sort of tampering going on. In our day, you had the ball, you spat on it, sweat, shine it that was it. They should not get a match penalty they should just get flicked. I don't care who they are, they should be just see ya later,” Thomson told Nine's A Current Affair.
"They're like spoilt brats if it doesn't go their way, they spit the dummy, whine about it, carry on stupidly. How do they get off the plan when they come back, they're going to get an absolute pizzling. I even got my hair cut so nobody would recognise me as an ex-cricketer," he added.
Jason Gillespie feels Smith's time as Australia's captain is surely up
Former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie, through a strongly-worded column in The Guardian, said Smith should be removed as captain and that the "Australian men's team will now need to rebuild public trust from scratch".
"Steve Smith's time as Australia's captain is surely up. It is impossible to envisage a scenario where he stays in the job. This is a train wreck. When Smith fronted the media on Saturday to explain his role in the ball-tampering scandal, one that has taken an already distasteful encounter with South Africa to new depths, he did not appear to grasp the severity of what he was owning up to.
"That simply beggared belief. This was pre-planned cheating. It may have been implemented by a junior player in Cameron Bancroft but it came with the backing and knowledge of "the leadership group", a core of senior guys in the Australian set-up. The reputation of a team who were already drawing scorn for their behaviour has been torched," he added.
Stuart Broad believes they were not doing this in the Ashes series
England bowler Stuart Broad claimed that Smith-led Australia didn't do anything like this earlier, not even during Ashes series they've reverse-swung the ball in all conditions.
"I saw Steve Smith in his press conference say it's the first time they've tried it – which to me, it's surprising why they'd change a method that's been working. Look at the Ashes series we've just played, all those Test matches, and they've reverse-swung the ball sometimes in conditions you wouldn't expect it to. I don't understand why they've changed their method for this one game," Broad said.
"There was no evidence that they were doing this in the Ashes series, from what I've seen," he added.
