Blow to Sam is so awful say Wasps
hard it is going to be have not only been in Smith’s head. Trevor Chappell, whose infamous underarm ball against New Zealand in 1981 delivered on the instruction of his older brother and captain Greg, admitted this week his actions still haunt.
“I struggled a lot with it mentally afterwards,” he said. “I was vilified for years. They’ll have to live with what they’ve done forever and whether it haunts them for the rest of their lives is down to them.
“I haven’t been able to shake off what happened to me in 37 years.”
Such a gloomy outlook is probably the last thing Smith and particularly Bancroft, above right, would want to hear given he was the man chosen to execute the plan. The opener also delivered his thoughts yesterday and the reality dawning on him was the possibility of the end of his Test career.
“People know I’ve worked so hard to get this opportunity in my career and now I’ve given someone else an opportunity for free,” he said.
“I’m going to work so hard to get back this dream I’ve had since I was a kid of playing for Australia.”
Bancroft, who was due to play for Somerset this summer, was dropped by the county yesterday, with director of cricket Andy Hurry saying it was “in the best interests of the club”.
Warner, the final man of the shamed trio, also arrived back in Sydney and paused only to say it had been a “tough and emotional” few days. He added that he had to take stock and pause for thought before giving his version of events in a couple of days.
With the Australian Cricketers’ Association suggesting yesterday there were a number of “glaring and clear anomalies” in the process leading up the bans handed down by Cricket Australia, it might not be too cynical to suggest that he wants to speak to a good lawyer first. JOE ROOT says the long bans handed out to Australia’s ball-tampering trio of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have sent out a strong message to the world that there is a heavy price to pay for cheating.
England captain Root, speaking before England’s final Test against New Zealand started in Christchurch last night, said: “Cricket Australia has made a decision which is a bit of a statement to world cricket.
“You see the amount of reaction it has got around the world. It just shows that everyone watching the game, and anyone who supports cricket, supports how they want to see the game played.
“Cricket Australia have put a statement out there not just for Australia but for world cricket. – and the reaction is all to do with how people want to watch cricket. It’s quite a strong message for everyone.”
Root believes his England team play the game in the right manner, saying: “We conduct ourselves pretty yesterday gave up the ghost, despite reports in January he was close to a comeback.
His retirement is another savage blow for the England coach, who had earmarked Jones for big things. The flanker had been a central figure in the Under-20 World Cup in 2011, when England reached the final against New Zealand.
Wasps’ director of rugby Dai Young said: “It’s awful news. He was destined to be a Wasps legend and a club captain. It’s not the first time I’ve known a player retire through an injury, but Sam’s situation has really hit me hard.
“He’s only a young man, but was someone I could rely on – he’s been a rock for me.”
Solomona’s charge was brought after Worcester’s Jamie Shillcock complained about comments made by an unknown Sale player in the Warriors’ 58-25 defeat. Shillcock, without naming the culprit, said to referee Andrew Jackson: “It was a homophobic slur, sir. Twice.”
Jackson told the fly-half the citing commissioner would deal with it and now Solomona’s hopes of a trip to South Africa in June could be over.
French centre Mathieu Bastareaud received a three-week suspension for calling Benetton flanker Sebastien Negri ‘a f ****** f ***** ’ earlier in the season. That was a reduced sentence due to the Frenchman’s guilty plea, remorse and poor English.
Meanwhile, at Kingsholm today, Bath take on Exeter in the Anglo Welsh Cup final, which was rearranged because of snow two weeks ago. At Kingston Park Dean Richards’ Newcastle host Brive in their Challenge Cup quarter-final, aiming for their first European semi-final since 2008.