Australia’s Turnbull says ball-tampering ‘beyond belief’

Australia’s ball-tampering crisis in their Test series in SA hit the national conversation on Sunday when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull laid into Steve Smith’s side.

“It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating,” Turnbull was quoted as saying by the Melbourne Age.

“After all, our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play.

“How can our team be engaged in cheating like this? It beggars belief.”

Smith admitted on Saturday that he and the rest of what he called Australia’s “leadership group” had roped Cameron Bancroft, the most junior member of the team, who is playing his eighth Test, into a plan to try to roughen the ball by rubbing it with sticking tape loaded with sand taken from the pitch. Smith and Bancroft confessed after the latter was caught redhanded by television cameras before tea on day three of the third Test at Newlands on Saturday.

On Sunday, Smith and vicecaptain David Warner stepped down from their positions for the rest of the Newlands Test. The captaincy was passed to wicketkeeper Tim Paine, who is playing his 12th Test. Smith has been fined his whole match fee and banned for the Wanderers Test, which starts on Friday. Bancroft has been hit with a 75% fine and three demerit points — one short of a ban.

Turnbull had what he called a “frank discussion” with Cricket Australia (CA) chairman David Peever. “I have expressed to him very clearly and unequivocally my disappointment and my concern about the events in SA,” Turnbull said.

“He has said to me that CA will be responding decisively, as they should. It’s their responsibility to deal with it, but I have to say that for the whole nation — who holds those who wear the baggy green up on a pedestal about as high as you can get in Australia — this is a shocking disappointment.

“It’s wrong and I look forward to CA taking decisive action soon.”

CA CE James Sutherland said in Melbourne on Sunday that Australian cricket fans “have every reason to wake up and not be proud of the Australian team. It’s a sad day for Australian cricket.

“Activities on the field yesterday in Cape Town are neither within the laws of the game or within the spirit of the game.”

CA has tasked its head of integrity, Iain Roy, and team performance manager Pat Howard with coming to SA to lead their investigation. Roy and

Howard were instrumental in the sacking of Mickey Arthur as Australia’s coach before the 2013 Ashes. “We have a responsibility to take this further and to understand more about the issue,” Sutherland said.

“We need someone to go over there and talk to the relevant people and understand the detail and then we’ll make appropriate decisions on the next steps.

“We are in the middle of a game and that game needs to conclude but in the course of the next couple of days we’ll get to the bottom of this.” SA’s team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, described the series as “intriguing on the field but somewhat theatrical off the field”.

The International Cricket Council has yet to say what it will do about the case.

Moosajee said the Australians had followed a sensible course of action after being exposed as cheats.

“I can’t really talk for them, but when the evidence is as damning as it was, it’s sometimes better just to come clean,” he said.

“That’s probably what they were thinking,” Moosajee said.