OUT ON THEIR YEARS!
Aussie cheats facing 12-month bans
DISGRACED Aussie captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner face 12-month international bans today.
Head of Cricket Australia James Sutherland lands in South Africa to confront the ball-tampering cheats who shamed a nation.
There is growing speculation in Oz that Smith – already banned for one Test after admitting a plot to scuff the ball against South Africa in
FROM BACK PAGE Cape Town – and his sidekick Warner (below) are facing lengthy suspensions.
Sutherland will also demand answers from coach Darren Lehmann about how much he knew of the plot exposed when TV cameras caught Cameron Bancroft concealing sticky tape – used to scuff the ball with debris from the pitch – in his underpants.
Smith claims the Aussies’ “leadership group” was behind the plan and absolved the coaching staff. Ashes legend Jason Gillespie insists Smith’s position as captain in untenable, saying: “This is a train wreck. It is impossible to envisage a scenario where he stays in the job.”
And MCC, the guardians of the Laws of Cricket, waded into the furore with assistant secretary John Stephenson warning standards of behaviour in the current series between Australia and South Africa had “fallen well below the standard required to inspire future generations”.