The ball tampering saga
Breaking news: Smith to make comeback in Canada Twenty20 league
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zhf0.html
Beginning June 28.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zhf0.html
Beginning June 28.
Warner to join Smith's return to cricket in Canada T20
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zj9l.htmlDavid Warner's return to cricket has been locked in after being drafted to play for Winnipeg Hawks in the inaugural Global T20 tournament in Canada.
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The tournament, which is set run from June 28 to July 15 in Toronto, will also mark Steve Smith's return to the game after the deposed Australian Test skipper was drafted for Toronto Nationals.
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Warner will also play the start of the Sydney grade cricket season with Randwick Petersham and has signed up for NT's Strike League in Darwin.
He has made himself available to play two one-day games in the Top End tournament on July 21 and 22.
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Steve Smith:
"To be honest, I probably spent four days in tears. I was really struggling mentally and I was really lucky that I had some close friends and family members that I could speak to at all hours of the day."
"The people that I had supporting me through that whole time made a huge difference to the head space I am in now."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zje5.html
[The article also notes: 'The banned men can use Cricket Australia and state facilities during their suspensions and train with their state squads.']
"To be honest, I probably spent four days in tears. I was really struggling mentally and I was really lucky that I had some close friends and family members that I could speak to at all hours of the day."
"The people that I had supporting me through that whole time made a huge difference to the head space I am in now."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zje5.html
[The article also notes: 'The banned men can use Cricket Australia and state facilities during their suspensions and train with their state squads.']
Malcolm Speed:
"As a new CEO, I thought James struggled with crisis management. Cricket in Australia will have its fair share of crises and James had plenty early in his tenure. Not the least of these was the bizarre circumstances facing Shane Warne at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he was sent home facing doping charges before he had bowled a ball."
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"The recent ball-tampering scandal is a case in point. With hindsight, I am sure James would have preferred to have spoken to Steve Smith before he made media comment. Time zones were against him and he was keen to be seen to be on top of the issue. Ultimately, the correct outcomes were achieved. Do we judge a sports administrator on how well he appears in the media or on the decisions that are made in resolving difficult issues?"
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"In his early years, I was critical of James's role at meetings of the CEOs of the other major countries. I thought his body language was sometimes dismissive of them and he did not show sufficient respect to them. The same criticism might also have been made of me in my early days at ICC. Australians are direct and forthright and do not have time to spend days at meetings beating around the bush. James accepted the criticism and changed his outlook. By the time I finished, James had established himself as a thought leader for the group and mentor for several of the new CEOs."
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... r-ca-chief
[Quick comment: Malcolm, we are definitely judging James on the decisions that he made.]
"As a new CEO, I thought James struggled with crisis management. Cricket in Australia will have its fair share of crises and James had plenty early in his tenure. Not the least of these was the bizarre circumstances facing Shane Warne at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he was sent home facing doping charges before he had bowled a ball."
...
"The recent ball-tampering scandal is a case in point. With hindsight, I am sure James would have preferred to have spoken to Steve Smith before he made media comment. Time zones were against him and he was keen to be seen to be on top of the issue. Ultimately, the correct outcomes were achieved. Do we judge a sports administrator on how well he appears in the media or on the decisions that are made in resolving difficult issues?"
...
"In his early years, I was critical of James's role at meetings of the CEOs of the other major countries. I thought his body language was sometimes dismissive of them and he did not show sufficient respect to them. The same criticism might also have been made of me in my early days at ICC. Australians are direct and forthright and do not have time to spend days at meetings beating around the bush. James accepted the criticism and changed his outlook. By the time I finished, James had established himself as a thought leader for the group and mentor for several of the new CEOs."
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... r-ca-chief
[Quick comment: Malcolm, we are definitely judging James on the decisions that he made.]
Mitchell Starc
[reported comments at Women in Banking and Finance forum in Sydney]:
"Going back to what Sue said before about being upfront and tackling a problem head on, that's something the group who decided to go into a press conference didn't really think about."
"They obviously didn't see how big the reaction was going to be at that time and then went down the path of not telling the whole truth and then I guess involving another group, which ruined - well, not ruined - but affected other reputations."
http://www.espn.com.au/cricket/story/_/ ... ring-taint
[statement on official personal website]:
"My comments at the forum were provided in the context of a particular topic, as it related to being honest and authentic in delivering a message. This context has unfortunately been lost in certain media reporting and headlines in recent days. But fundamentally there are many things that we can all learn from recent events in South Africa.
It was such a stressful time in our lives. There was strain on relationships both as individuals and as a team. However, the relationships of that group remain very much intact. I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside every one of my team mates from that tour again. We still have a long way to go in rebuilding the trust with the Australian public and I know personally, that I am 100% committed to doing that.
Despite reports to the contrary, I continue to have the utmost respect for Steve Smith as captain, team-mate and friend and I look forward to having him back in our great game soon. That goes for David and Cameron who have also been through an extremely tough time. It is good to see all three guys planning to be back in cricket soon in different competitions around the world."
https://www.mitchstarc56.com/comment/
[reported comments at Women in Banking and Finance forum in Sydney]:
"Going back to what Sue said before about being upfront and tackling a problem head on, that's something the group who decided to go into a press conference didn't really think about."
"They obviously didn't see how big the reaction was going to be at that time and then went down the path of not telling the whole truth and then I guess involving another group, which ruined - well, not ruined - but affected other reputations."
http://www.espn.com.au/cricket/story/_/ ... ring-taint
[statement on official personal website]:
"My comments at the forum were provided in the context of a particular topic, as it related to being honest and authentic in delivering a message. This context has unfortunately been lost in certain media reporting and headlines in recent days. But fundamentally there are many things that we can all learn from recent events in South Africa.
It was such a stressful time in our lives. There was strain on relationships both as individuals and as a team. However, the relationships of that group remain very much intact. I look forward to the opportunity to play alongside every one of my team mates from that tour again. We still have a long way to go in rebuilding the trust with the Australian public and I know personally, that I am 100% committed to doing that.
Despite reports to the contrary, I continue to have the utmost respect for Steve Smith as captain, team-mate and friend and I look forward to having him back in our great game soon. That goes for David and Cameron who have also been through an extremely tough time. It is good to see all three guys planning to be back in cricket soon in different competitions around the world."
https://www.mitchstarc56.com/comment/
Nine's presenters defend hiring of David Warner as commentator
https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment ... 4zkw3.html
[Quick comment: I'm a bit shocked. But cheating has never stopped Michael Vaughan from dining out on the game in this way.]
https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment ... 4zkw3.html
[Quick comment: I'm a bit shocked. But cheating has never stopped Michael Vaughan from dining out on the game in this way.]
Ricky Ponting:
"I have been a spectator for the last five years and not been in the dressing room.
"I just know from being a captain, little things start happening and if you don't deal with them when they happen they turn into bigger things.
"Maybe over the last few years there have been enough little things around Australian cricket and they have turned into things that are catastrophic which is what happened in South Africa."
"To be honest I didn't watch any of the press conferences. I was better off taking myself away from it all. ...
"The less I know the better. I have some feelings for the boys involved and hope they are OK and we see them back in Australian colours."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zlli.html
"I have been a spectator for the last five years and not been in the dressing room.
"I just know from being a captain, little things start happening and if you don't deal with them when they happen they turn into bigger things.
"Maybe over the last few years there have been enough little things around Australian cricket and they have turned into things that are catastrophic which is what happened in South Africa."
"To be honest I didn't watch any of the press conferences. I was better off taking myself away from it all. ...
"The less I know the better. I have some feelings for the boys involved and hope they are OK and we see them back in Australian colours."
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zlli.html
Players asked how Cricket Australia can 'improve accountability'
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zlnj.html
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 4zlnj.html
A. Wu wrote:...
One of the questions on the survey, in which players are told their responses will remain anonymous, is: "what are three things Australian cricket could do to improve the accountability of Cricket Australia?"
Players are also asked to list the "three primary causes of the events in South Africa"...
Another question is: "what do you believe are three significant contributors to the current 'culture' in Australian cricket?"
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Australia's cricketers believed the sanctions handed to Smith, Warner and Bancroft were excessive while CA felt the players, and not the board, should wear the blame for the behaviour of the national team at Newlands.
The board felt vindicated when the banned trio opted not to challenge their bans despite being urged to do so by the ACA.
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"Whilst my own view is that changes need to be made in the way cricket is governed and administered, you may have a different view," ACA president Greg Dyer wrote in an email accompanying the survey.
"As a key player in Australian cricket, the ACA is committed to providing thorough and considered input to the review processes, which we see as extremely important for the future of our sport."
The distribution of the survey comes after Dyer and chief executive Alistair Nicholson were interviewed by The Ethics Centre's Dr Simon Longstaff.
It's believed Longstaff will speak to some 84 people across various sections of the game as part of the qualitative component of the review. Players, CA board members, staff, sponsors and the ACA have already taken part in a separate survey run by The Ethics Centre.
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How the ball-tampering episode unfolded in St Lucia
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... d-st-lucia
[Quick comment: I'm of course interested to see the footage. At least two of the umpires involved have given me the impression in the past of being very calm and experienced.]
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... d-st-lucia
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Following play on the second evening on Friday, in which Sri Lanka were straining for wickets, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould, and television umpire Richard Kettleborough had concerns over the methods Sri Lanka had used to maintain the ball. As a result, they approached the broadcasters for footage which could support or confirm their suspicion.
The next morning, the umpires viewed footage (which has now been aired), of Chandimal reaching into his pocket, seemingly retrieving something from it to put in his mouth, and only a couple of seconds later, applying that saliva to the ball before handing it to bowler Lahiru Kumara.
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Among Sri Lanka's concerns was the timing of the charge. They believed it should have been laid on the second evening itself, rather than having been sprung on the team just before play on the third day. The umpires, however, may have wanted their suspicions to be corroborated by video evidence before further action was taken.
Eventually, Srinath issued an ultimatum: either Sri Lanka take the field before 11:30am (the scheduled start had been 9:30), or forfeit the game. Sri Lanka resumed play just before this period elapsed.
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[Quick comment: I'm of course interested to see the footage. At least two of the umpires involved have given me the impression in the past of being very calm and experienced.]