Like Sharapova, this was a slick confessional designed to save the brand
SigniFiCant sanctions to follow. there will need to be. What Cricket australia delivered yesterday was an exercise in polished damage limitation. oh, think of the children. oh, think of the fans. oh, think of the mCg, half-empty on Boxing Day. How sorry must we say we are to prevent that?
Plenty sorry, judging by the reaction in the southern hemisphere. somehow australia had got the idea that its cricketers played hard, but fair, and the last four days of revelations and confessions have challenged that.
not to worry, though, insisted chief executive James sutherland. the preliminary investigation suggested this ball tampering was merely an isolated incident. He couldn’t go into further detail on that, which was a pity as ‘24 hours in Cape town — an indepth report’ promised to be quite the bedtime read.
Had there been inquiries into the allegation David Warner revealed further ball tampering exploits to england players over drinks at the end of the ashes series? Had footage from other matches been inspected and reviewed? What about the bowler who received the tampered ball? Didn’t he notice anything odd, a sudden deterioration? one moment he’s got a spherical object, the next Fido’s chew toy. might he have raised an eyebrow in surprise? sutherland couldn’t say. He was asked three times if what occurred constituted cheating, and would concede only a ‘bad day’ for australian cricket.
He was happy that Darren Lehmann, the coach, knew nothing of any skulduggery though and should continue in his position — despite senior players indulging in a conspiracy behind his back. the leadership group, as steve smith had it on saturday.
that transpired to be quite a small group, too. the Four tops had more members. Just three in it, after all this: smith, vicecaptain Warner and team patsy Cameron Bancroft. all were leaving south africa in the morning, their punishments to be decided.
already the cynical are speculating that while smith might have a path cleared to return, even if it is in 12 months, Warner’s race may be run. Bancroft could be expendable, too, depending on how this plays out.
if the australian public are still not buying the levels of contrition, kindling may need to be added to the fire. Cricket australia had talked tough for several days but, ultimately, this resembled little more than the slick confessionals of tiger Woods and maria sharapova. not quite as teary-eyed or personal — companies can’t pull that stuff off — but no less brand-obsessed. sutherland even mentioned the australian cricket family, as if FiFa hadn’t put a stake through the heart of that trope once and for all.
Yet amid all the apologies and regrets, the clicking of the coldest corporate machinery could be heard. Cricket is australia’s no 1 sport, never forget, the alpha player in a competitive market. this scandal is a threat to its position, a tumble down the charts. if cricket becomes synonymous with cheating, with bad sportsmanship, with not just success but success unhealthily achieved at any cost, the ramifications could be huge.
so if sutherland empathised with an angry public once, he did so a dozen times. He understood the trust that had been lost, he felt it too. He felt their pain. not enough to act against the man on whose watch it happened, but enough to begin a process that would end in sanctions.
significant sanctions. more significant than what unfolded yesterday, it must be hoped.