Bonuses prompted cheating culture

WINNING bonuses for Australian players helped corrupt the nation’s cricket culture, according to players and officials interviewed in a review.

It is understood some players and officials spoke out strongly against the “win at all costs’’ nature in the team and said the introduction of winning bonuses in the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding was a mistake.

Some officials were known to mention that if a player needed winning bonuses to do their best for their country they should not have been chosen in the first place.

Several players have traced the team’s recent fall from grace back to the Hobart Test in 2016-17, when Australia was hammered by South Africa for the fifth consecutive Test loss.

The shuddering nature of that defeat prompted Australia to seek a more abrasive playing edge and drop wicketkeeper Peter Nevill for the combative Matthew Wade.

The review is set to be released within a fortnight after initial suggestions its findings would not be made public.

Former Australian coach John Buchanan has endorsed this decision. “They (CA) have undertaken this review, and it needs to make an impact, and for that reason it needs to be made (public),’’ he said.