AS THE WORLD WAITS FOR MORE BALL-TAMPERING NEWS, BULLETIN CRICKET WRITER BRENT O’NEILL SPEAKS TO FORMER BULL AND CRICKET GOLD COAST STALWART ANDREW ROBINSON ABOUT THE DRAMA
WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS?
To think they’d get away with it was a bit of a shock and it has tarnished Australian cricket. The whole world is laughing. It’s probably a wellknown thing that there’s always been some type of ball tampering over the years but something like that was so blatantly obvious. It’s just a very grey area. Everyone knows 2005, the lolly saga with the English team, and different things to get polish on the ball. That stuff is illegal but it’s such a grey area it is brushed over. The shock of it all is just how they went about doing it.
WHAT HAPPENS TO STEVE SMITH NOW?
I just think we’ve got to wait to find out what’s happened. Physically, we can see something’s happened but we don’t know the ins and outs of it. They’ve come out and had quick press conference 10 minutes afterwards to say something’s happened but in the next 24-48 hours we will know more and that’s when people can start making decisions about what’s wrong and what’s right. People make mistakes so we’ve got to forgive and forget at some stage too. We’ll wait to see what happens and then give them an opportunity to have their say and moving forward give them an opportunity to make up for their mistakes.
IF SMITH IS SACKED, WHO BECOMES CAPTAIN?
There is no standout at the moment. The top two or three are the ones who have been mentioned in the situation so probably Tim Paine (right). He’s the most experienced guy on the team so all of a sudden he’s gone from not even being in the squad to most likely being captain for this next Test match. It’s only a oneoff Test and I think the next Test is in the Australian summer so there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge between here and there.
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED BALLTAMPERING IN YOUR CAREER?
If you go by the letter of the law, if someone has lollies to get extra saliva and then put it to the ball, then it’s classed as illegal but it happens. It’s a very grey area and it happens all around. To this extreme, I’ve never seen anything like that but we’ve all had lollies to add extra saliva. I think a lot of cricketers and ex-cricketers would admit
to that.
DO YOU THINK THIS WAS A ONE-OFF?
From what I was reading in the South African press they had a bit of an inkling something was going on (but) I don’t know. I would’ve thought something like this is a one-off. Outside looking in, it was a pretty silly option to think they’d get away with it with so many cameras looking in.
PLENTY OF TALK ABOUT COACH DARREN LEHMANN. IS IT HARD TO BELIEVE HE DIDN’T KNOW?
Yes and no. It’s always a large change room and when you’re in a quick lunch break or tea break some are getting massages, some are getting lunch, some are chilling and doing their own thing. So it doesn’t take much for a couple of people to get together and decide ‘all right, this is what we’re going to do’ without someone else knowing. You can’t just say ‘one person is in on it so everyone knows’ so we’ll have to wait until we have more information.