Time for leaders to set tone

BEHAVIOURS are slipping in Australian cricket. This was signalled in the international summer and confirmed in the recent Sheffield Shield round.

Things have begun to drift. The signs of decay are identifiable at the head and there needs to be some intervention before things end up in a place we’ve been before.

It is too soon for things to be going this way.

Cricket officials must carry some of the blame for walking past sliding standards but the fault lies with senior players.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith present as good people who wish no harm to anyone or anything, especially not the game which has given them such advantage in life and the one they prove so adept at.

They’re not abusive, they’re respectful, they put in time around the game, they are very likeable men and do not fit the caricature of the “ugly Australian” cricketer.

They are, however, senior players in the Australian cricket team and their behaviour is closely observed by everybody below them in the food chain — and in the broader cricket universe.

There’s been speculation that Smith or Labuschagne may be the next captain of the team when Tim Paine retires and because of that they will be examined more closely.

Australian cricket, like it or not, is still on probation following South Africa.

You only had to see the international pile-on when Smith — innocently enough — took guard during India’s innings at the SCG, scuffing the batsman’s mark as he went. This was further highlighted by the reaction to what Paine was heard to say on the stump microphone.

For Smith in particular the response was a warning that if he assumes leadership in the future he will be held to a higher standard than others. Perhaps an impossibly high standard. These senior players were part of a post South African players’ pact which talked about respecting “the game and its traditions”.

Watching their dismissals in the second innings of the Sheffield Shield last week, however, left a bad taste in the mouth. Both displayed patterns of behaviour that needs to be arrested.

Both were given out caught behind. Both demonstrated

— soft — dissent with the decision. They stood, they stared open mouthed, they shook their heads, then they exited the field shaking their heads. Neither swore, neither spoke to the umpire.

Both decisions looked a little crook and you’d suggest they were unlucky. Both batsman trudged off like school boys, throttling the bat half way along the blade, gesturing and muttering to themselves.

This is not a big deal and supporters of both will point out they were not fined or even given a warning by match officials.

That doesn’t make it right. There were years and years where Australian cricket pointed to the infrequency of punishment from the ICC as an indication their behaviour was acceptable — it seemed a valid argument at the time, but on reflection was not.