The ball tampering saga

[K]

...
Earlier this week, respected commentator Mike Haysman told Wide World of Sports that since the Cape Town Test reverse swing has “died” in Test cricket, with teams “extremely cautious about what they can do.”
...

For Healy, Haysman’s comments about the death of reverse swing signal a possible shift in the dynamics of the game.
...

“Now that Mike hasn’t seen that happen in South Africa in the last 12 months … that’s very interesting.

“The Cape Town Test could have cleaned up the whole game!”

[K]

...
“I’m a firm believer that one of the most exciting parts of Test cricket is reverse swing, and that has died. It’s simply died,” Haysman told Wide World of Sports, for an exclusive series marking 12-months since the ball-tampering scandal.

“All the teams are extremely cautious about what they can do. It does prove that some teams were perhaps not gaining reverse swing legally in the past.

“It’s something that should be encouraged somehow. I’ve spoken to teams, and captains, and they just say they’re trying to get it to swing conventionally, rather than get involved in any reverse swing controversy.”

[Jezza]

Good article on the fallout of the ball tampering saga 12 months on.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricket/au ... b380bd7ee6

[K]

Australian bowlers considered Test boycott if Warner wasn't banned

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 518m9.html

...
Multiple sources have confirmed that star bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were intending to withdraw from the fourth Test of last year's infamous series if Warner had been free to play.
...

Bancroft, Roberts said, had personally apologised to CA's receptionists who fielded hundreds of calls from disappointed fans last year.
...

[K]

[K]

Bowlers rubbish media report

Aussie bowlers dismiss reports they intended to withdraw from the fourth and final Test in South Africa if David Warner played

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/austral ... 2019-03-31

...
"We are extremely disappointed in an article which was first published across Fairfax platforms on March 29, 2019," the statement attributed to all four bowlers read.

"The article claims we intended to withdraw from the fourth Test during last year’s tour of South Africa had David Warner been free to play.

"This claim is disappointing on a number of fronts but most importantly because it is false.

"False claims circulated in the media, such as these, which question our relationship with David are inflammatory and misleading.

"As a team we are all focused on moving forward together and helping the Australian Men’s team prepare for the World Cup and the Ashes."
...

[K]

'It depends on Mother Nature': Reverse-swing could decide the Ashes

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 519ua.html

[Comment: I'm amazed Forsaith mentions reverse swing in the 2005 Ashes without mentioning that England tampered with the ball the whole series. Irresponsible journalism. I mean, you don't need to talk about Michael Vaughan's cheating in every single article you write on reverse swing or ball tampering, but if you choose to talk about "Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff's mastery of the art" in the 2005 series, then you really should give the context of that "mastery".]

[K]

Cameron Bancroft 'is a different person now' - Marcus North on Durham captaincy call

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... aincy-call

...
"I liken him to a fellow Western Australian is the guy we used to call 'Mr Cricket', Michael Hussey."
...

North said: "The club is in a position where there were probably five senior players who were all very much thought about in succession planning - Paul Collingwood, Keaton Jennings, Paul Coughlin, Mark Stoneman and Graham Onions...all guys you would naturally see as captains. Take those players out in a very short period of time and where are we with our leadership team?"
...

England quick Mark Wood admitted his initial surprise at Cameron Bancroft's elevation to the Durham captaincy had turned into the belief that it was "a good appointment".
...

[Comment: If I were Mike Hussey, I'd feel insulted.]

[Pies4shaw]

So, in: Warner, Smith. Out: Further international whining about the ball-tampering thing.

[K]

Ball-tampering investigation a whitewash - Wisden editor

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... den-editor

The editor of the Wisden Almanack, Lawrence Booth, ...

The comments, part of the traditional Notes by the Editor, in the 156th edition of the Almanack which was published on Wednesday...

"An inquiry by Cricket Australia felt more like a whitewash: there had been no previous tampering, and only three players were involved," Booth writes. "Fancy that…The outrage was disproportionate: fiddling with the ball, if not rubbing it with sandpaper, happens.

"But there was more to it than outrage. Australia had been undone by the hubris-nemesis one-two, which has kept playwrights in business since Ancient Greece.

"With their prattle about the line - where it should be drawn (just beyond whatever the Australians had just done) and by whom (the Australians, naturally) - Smith's side forfeited the last drop of goodwill. This wasn't just English tittering: many of their compatriots were sick of them too. To cheat so brazenly confirmed a widely held suspicion: Australia believed they were above the law."
...

[Comment: If this really was a one-off (which many don't believe), the motivation was much more likely not to be thinking they were above the law but thinking that others (e.g. de Kock and Rabada, both of whom did not deserve to have been eligible to play in that Test) were getting away with breaking the law. This tit for tat was what motivated NZ to tamper with the ball many years ago against Pakistan, when the umpires refused to do anything.]

[K]

Smith, Warner bans were far too lenient: Ambrose

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 51d5q.html

...
"When you break the law like that you should be punished," Ambrose said on Fox Sports.

"I honestly thought they got away with murder. A year was a little bit [lenient]. I would have said two years just to send a message because it was stupid really."
...

[Comment: if they got away with murder, what does that make someone like Michael Vaughan? A serial killer?]

[ronrat]

Let us not forget Sarfaz Narwaz suddenly moving the ball alarmingly and taking 7-1 after apparently using a bottle top to scuff the ball.

Fred Trueman and Nugget Miller gad brylcreem in the hair.

[K]

'Living in the past is unhealthy'

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 51d27.html

...
Asked whether he had a message for Durham's fans, he added: "I'm Cameron, I play cricket, I made a really poor mistake last year and I'm very sorry for that. I look forward to saying 'G'day', shaking your hand and signing all your stuff."

[Comment: that's better.]

[K]

Steve Smith appointed skipper of Rajasthan Royals in IPL

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/cricket ... 51fvv.html

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/ ... h-approach

...
This will be the second time Smith will take up leadership duties following the ban, having led Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League earlier this year.
...

The development might not have come entirely as a surprise to Rahane as insiders reveal Smith had been quietly taking charge of the field placements in their last few matches.
...

[K]

The ugly Australian: the evolution of a cricket species

http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/ ... et-species

Jarrod Kimber


[Comment: Kimber mixes together different topics and doesn't acknowledge the distinction between them or argue why he thinks they might be related (e.g. racism and ball tampering are not the same topic).]