Elected to lead, not say sorry
IMAGINE if we held politicians to the same standard as our cricketers. They would drop like flies. It was excruciating to watch Steve Smith break down before a baying mob of journalists, his father close at hand as he apologised for his part in the sticky wicket scandal. What a moment. No artifice, no pretext, no buckpassing, just a desperately ashamed bloke fessing up to the unforgivable – you just don’t cheat at cricket.
In just five minutes the impossible happened and Australian sentiment for the most part switched from bloodlust to begrudging forgiveness.
The painful scene was interrupted by an absolute dunce of a human going by the name of Intern Pete making a cheap attempt to market the ratings black hole that the Kyle and Jackie O radio show has entered.
That bloke, real name Peter Deppeler, should hang his head in utter shame.
Smith and Cameron Bancroft have both faced the music and delivered real apologies, but the third cog in the wheel – painted as the chief organgrinder in the dimwitted ball-tampering plot – has been missing in action.
The few words David Warner did put out there sounded almost like a warning that “you will hear from me in a few days”.
All three players face enormous financial, emotional and reputational losses over their deceit, and so they should, but the punishment is definitely on the pointy end of the scale.
Smith would submit to a public flogging if it meant he earned back some respect.
It is fine for Cricket Australia to impose year-long bans but the players are entitled to appeal the punishments to the International Cricket Council.
If the ICC does not see fit to reduce the bans, it must set an uncompromising standard to treat all other cheaters with the same rigour – people like South Africa’s Faf du Plessis, who has been caught ball tampering twice without missing a match.
This whole ordeal has ripped at hearts across the nation with a huge amount of vitriol and hatred directed at three fellows who had the hide to seek an unfair advantage.
The question has to be asked: why do we take it so personally?
Australia has an almost perverse relationship with sports stars that transcends all other indicators of social standing, placing them on a towering pedestal as role model demigods sent down to earth.
We mortal men feel entitled to their lives, on and increasingly off the field, vicariously sharing their glories and failures. That is the beauty of sports. Fat lumps on the couch at home can pretend we are not only on our 15th chicken wing; that we are right there alongside our team striving to win for our country.
It is an awesome feeling, but it can go too far.
The Aussie ball-tampering trio have faced hideous, appalling abuse for their sins, which is bad enough. But so have their partners. Smith, Warner and Bancroft have been treated like war criminals, not some blokes who scuffed a ball.
Their every move will be scrutinised, each word dissected to the umpth degree as we try to understand what the hell they were thinking when they disgraced their country.
Warner will likely never truly be forgiven, treated as a pariah from the game he loves for the rest of his days.
Smith and Bancroft may get a second chance, but they too will be forever tarnished.
Everywhere they go it will be the same – that’s the bloke who cheated at cricket. Pretty grubby stuff.
No politician in Australia would ever sit through such an agonising five minutes of raw flagellation as Steve Smith did this week.
The closest in recent memory was Barnaby Joyce and his reaction was more of a please-bugger-off-now than an honest heartfelt mea culpa. That’s no surprise. The reason we don’t hold politicians to the same standard as our cricketers is because we never held them in high regard in the first place.
We generally get what we expect from elected officials, with some rare and welcome exceptions – a halfarsed job, slick words and very little satisfaction.
Right or wrong, when it comes to cricket we expect more from our boys.
If only Richie Benaud was still here, he would know what to do.
THE REASON WE DON’T HOLD POLITICIANS TO THE SAME STANDARD AS OUR CRICKETERS IS BECAUSE WE NEVER HELD THEM IN HIGH REGARD IN THE FIRST PLACE.