It’s a national disgrace – and they still don’t get it

SteVe SMitH must step down as Australia captain immediately and unconditionally. So must vicecaptain David Warner and the rest of the so-called leadership group. they are all implicated in a miserable conspiracy. this cabal is a symptom of an awry environment, now exposed. coach Darren Lehmann must also walk away. Smith said Lehmann knew nothing but of the schemer-in-chief of this team, that is not credible. At stake is the integrity and honour not just of Australian cricket, but all Australian sport. typically, when scandal and skulduggery beset sports, Australia set themselves piously above the fray. Aggressive and mouthy, perhaps, but cheating? Not conscionable in this sporting nation. traditionally, the cricket team carry that standard. their role is now forfeit. Ball-tampering using — crucially — a foreign agent is, calculatedly, wilfully, brazenly against the rules. Yet Smith said only that it was a one-off, that he was embarrassed and sorry, that he would move on, that it was a pity they were not gathered to talk about the cricket. And so we arrive at the crux: the Australian cricket team just don’t get it. they didn’t get it when they arrived in South Africa and asked for the pitch mics to be muted between balls, virtually announcing the campaign of abuse to come. they didn’t get it as the humour of the series deteriorated to the point of pathetic. they don’t get that the position they took last winter, when arguing to cricket Australia that they were a responsible and far-sighted cohort who deserved a greater say in the running of the game, is now laughable. they don’t get that the television rights that pay their way depend on their appeal. those rights are up for grabs now. there will also be big sponsors squirming and looking through the fine print. the Australian team might get the uncomfortable way this is going to play out for them for the next couple of years. But they don’t get the way it is going to reflect on other Australian sportsmen and women. Never before have the Australian cricket public been asked to endorse blatant, selfconfessed, shameless cheats. Forgiveness will not come easily.