‘Smith’s ball-tampering remarks hit reputations’
MUMBAI : Australia pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has criticised the way Steve Smith handled the first press conference on the balltampering controversy during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in March.
After batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on TV using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball, then skipper Smith spoke to the media along with his young team mate. Smith admitted Australia’s ‘leadership group’ had decided to tamper with the ball in a Test they desperately needed to win.
Smith didn’t specify how many members were involved, leading to one of the most embarrassing chapters in Australian cricket history. From what is known, the leadership group on the field comprised Smith, his deputy David Warner, spinner Nathan Lyon and fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Starc. Smith and Warner were banned for a year and Bancroft for nine months by the Australian Board.
Starc, currently recovering from a bone stress reaction, said there was ‘significant fallout’ among players after that media conference.
Speaking at a ‘Women in Banking
and Financing’ forum in Sydney, Starc endorsed a corporate adviser’s warnings against ‘illadvised, ill-prepared’ press conferences, Australian media reported.
“Going back to what Sue said before about being up front and tackling a problem head on, that’s something the group who decided to go into a press conference didn’t really think about,” Starc said.
“They obviously didn’t see how big the reaction was going to be at that time and then went down the path of not telling the whole truth and then
I guess involving another group, which ruined — well, not ruined — but affected other reputations.”
The report said the bowlers were angry to be indirectly named by Smith, who later
clarified his part,.cricket Australia also gave them a clean chit. Hazlewood too spoke about the incident a few days ago, denying the bowlers had any knowledge. “We have ball maintenance people in the team, usually batsmen because they are in the circle . We pretty much get it at the top of our mark one second before we start running in.”