Lehmann: We need to change

DARREN LEHMANN admitted his team need to change their ways in the wake of the balltampering scandal that has led to year-long bans for Steve Smith and David Warner. The Australian coach has emerged from the Cape Town controversy with his job intact, despite general scepticism about claims that he knew nothing about plans to tamper with the ball. But, on another chastening day for the sport, he said all the right things. ‘We need to change how we play and the boundaries we play within,’ he said. ‘Previously we’ve butted heads on the line, but that’s not the way to go about us playing cricket moving forward. ‘The team has been seen quite negatively in recent times and there is a need for us to change some of the philosophies about the way we play. The thing for me would be if we take a leaf out of someone like say New Zealand’s book, the way they play and respect the opposition. ‘We do respect the opposition, but we push the boundaries. So we’ve got to make sure we respect the game and its traditions, and understand the way the game holds itself around the world.’ Lehmann is regarded by many as lucky to still have his job after presiding over a culture of machismo and arrogance. He said tomorrow’s fourth Test in Johannesburg would not be easy. ‘We know we’re not going to be 100 per cent mentally right,’ he said.