IPL stars Smith, Warner to suffer financial losses
NEW DELHI: The Cape Town ball tampering scandal will burn a hole in Steve Smith and David Warner’s pockets. The two biggest earners in Australian cricket are expected to lose substantially in the wake of ‘Sandpapergate’.
Under pressure to punish Smith and Warner for bringing the national side to disrepute, Cricket Australia will be on a sticky wicket when it renegotiates the (Australian) $600 million five-year TV deal with Channel Nine at the end of this year. The marketability of the Baggy Green has taken a beating after the tampering controversy.
Smith and Warner were among the clutch of international players ‘retained’ by their respective IPL teams. Smith has already been axed as Rajasthan Royals captain and Sunrisers Hyderabad could take a similar decision on their talismanic leader, Warner. Royals and Hyderabad had retained Smith and Warner for ~12 crore and ~12.5 crore, respectively. “The scandal will hit the image of both the stars and they could lose almost 20 per cent of the their sponsorship earnings because of this,” said a source aware of Smith and Warner’s endorsement deals.
If Smith and Warner are banned for a year, they will miss 13 Tests, 24 ODIS and five T20s. CA pays $14000 per Test, $7000 per ODI and $5000 per T20 and the sum goes up to $3,70,000. Their Big Bash annual contract is around $1,50,000.
So if Smith is banned for a year, he stands to lose roughly $4.5 million from on-field earnings alone. The Australia captain is on the highest retainer contract list with a base salary of around $2 million per year. Warner gets an annual retainership of $810,000 from CA.
Sanitarium, on Tuesday, became the first company to distance itself from Steve Smith as cereal-makers Weet-bix, that once boasted of the Aussie skip- per as one of its kids, removed all his references from their website.
Smith is also the face of Korean electronics brand Samsung and one of the brand ambassadors of American footwear company New Balance. Warner is associated with brands like Asics (footware), LG Electronics, Channel Nine (broadcasters), Gray Nichollas (UK bat manufactuers), Milo (Nestle’s health drink) and Make my wish (an Australiabased NGO).
Jaimie Fuller, executive chairman of Skins compression wear, said Cricket Australia’s reputation is on the line.
In a full-page advertisement in Australian newspapers, Fuller said: “Cricket is such a part of our national psyche that it helps define us. It helps give us a sense of what is fair, and what is not; what is right and what is wrong. Even though you (Cricket Australia) are presiding over the sport, it doesn’t belong to you. You are the custodians of it. And now you must get your job right.” Late South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was banned for life after he admitted fixing his own team's ODIS against India in 2000. Cronje, who died aged 32 in a plane crash in 2002, had initially denied all allegations, but eventually came clean after mounting evidence that included teammates testifying that they had received cash offers from him to throw matches. Pakistan skipper Salim Malik also picked up a life ban in 2000 on the recommendation of the Qayyum enquiry into match fixing in the 1990s. Rashid Latif accused Malik of match-fixing during Pakistan's tour to South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1995. England's 1932-33 tour of Australia was notable for skipper Douglas Jardine's tactic of 'fast leg theory bowling'. Bowlers pitched short balls on leg stump that reared into the body of where an orthodox batsman would be standing after taking his guard. With fast bowler Harold Larwood to the fore, the "Bodyline" plan was employed in a bid to dent the dominance of the brilliant Sir Don Bradman through physical intimidation. But it led to a diplomatic incident between the two countries over allegations of unsporting tactic. Either way it worked, with England winning the Ashes 4-1, but such was the uproar, Nottinghamshire miner Larwood never played another Test in a bitter and premature end to his international career. Maybe the most infamous ball-tampering controversy in recent memory ended with Pakistan forfeiting their Test against England at The Oval in 2006. Umpires gave England five penalty runs after ruling that Pakistan had tampered with the ball. Inzamam ul-haq's side refused to take field after tea and the match was awarded to England.
They should just get flicked. I don’t care who they are, they should be just see ya later
J THOMSON, on Smith, Warner