CA needs to come clean on the dirt
Cynicism demands detail
Cricket Australia cannot expect the public to buy its assertion that Darren Lehmann and others knew nothing of the ball-tampering plan if it is not prepared to give a warts and all account of how and why that is the case.
James Sutherland’s dramatic press conference in Johannesburg yesterday raised more questions than it answered.
The cynicism on social media about how it could be Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were the only three in the entire team set-up to know about the scheme was immediate and overwhelming.
At this stage there is no concrete evidence to contradict CA’s findings, but in these extraordinary circumstances the onus is on head office to prove this beyond any doubt.
Sutherland wasn’t even prepared to label the premeditated ball tampering as “cheating”.
Already there is mutiny within the team and out.
It’s fanciful to expect anyone who witnessed the caught-oncandid-camera walkie-talkie conversation between Lehmann and 12th man Peter Handscomb, and the tape down the pants response of Bancroft that followed, to believe this plot could be so isolated, without a detailed explanation to come with it.
Perhaps it’s still coming as CA works on finalising sanctions, but it needs to come soon otherwise the lingering distrust and broken culture will prevail no matter what personnel changes are made. There is a chance it won’t though, with the probe bound by confidentiality clauses designed to protect players.
Asked how the testimonies of players who had already lied to umpires and been at the centre of such an incident could be believed as truthful, chief executive Sutherland backed his integrity commissioner to have gathered a full and accurate picture of what took place.
“That’s up to Iain Roy to make those judgments and he’s experienced in regards to these investigations (as are) the people from the ICC that were there,” Sutherland said.
“It’s a matter of process that he works through in corroborating evidence and coming to a level of satisfaction about his findings and that’s exactly what he’s done.”
The other lingering question from the yesterday’s announcement was Lehmann’s future.
Sutherland’s endorsement of Lehmann as coach was overshadowed by his concession a wide-ranging review into team culture would commence.
Essentially, there’s an acceptance that a poor culture has led Australia to this shameful point.
In this context, many are asking how can Lehmann coach in the Johannesburg Test match?
It’s impossible to see how he could survive a review into team performance, but there is no timeline on how long the review will take.
The public will accept Cricket Australia’s need for due process, but only if they believe they’re going to get the truth in return.