No sympathy as desperate Australians are caught out
England had suspicions over conduct in Ashes South Africa proved equal to intimidatory tactics
The crises around Australian cricket will elicit little sympathy from the rest of the cricketing world – and there certainly will not be any from England.
Some in the set-up suspected Australia were up to something with the ball during the Ashes series but never had the evidence to prove it.
Losing teams always look for reasons and it was probably nothing more than a conspiracy theory. Also, if Australia were at it during the Ashes then it was as ham-fisted as what they did yesterday for the ball stayed gun barrel straight.
But England will also remember how Channel 9 blew up a ball-tampering incident involving James Anderson at the MCG which head coach Trevor Bayliss put down to ‘pommie bashing’, the amount of which even took him – an Australian brought up in the hard knock school of grade cricket – by surprise.
Steve Smith was adamant what happened in Cape Town was a one-off but admitted it was caused by desperation to fight back against a South Africa side that has not buckled like England did in an Ashes that never caught the imagination.
Led by their astute captain, Faf du Plessis, and emboldened by the presence of their world class batsman, AB De Villiers, as well as the fire and pace of Kagiso Rabada, South Africa are on the verge of a 2-1 lead in this four-match series finishing the third day with a lead of 294 runs with five second-innings wickets left.
This has been a high-class, high-octane Test series that you cannot take your eyes off played between two sides blessed with outstanding fast bowlers.
However, it is South Africa’s ability to withstand Australia’s shock tactics that have put them in the position to chalk up a remarkable series win for a country outside the top three in financial – but not cricketing – clout.
The series has been tainted by bad blood, the ICC had to call in a QC to preside over a disciplinary appeal involving Kagiso Rabada and abuse has reached new levels on and off the field.
CCTV footage of two players almost coming to blows outside the dressing room in Durban looked like something from football and ended with accusations of verbal abuse of a player’s wife.
But to hear a captain admit that his team discussed cheating over lunch, and then to go out and do it without at least one voice of reason explaining the consequences, is remarkable and leaves Cricket Australia facing tough questions about how it allowed the culture of the team to reach such a level.
The first Test generally sets the tone of a series. In Brisbane, England competed before being ground down by Smith’s batting and ultimately humiliated by Australia’s well-constructed outing of Jonny Bairstow’s headbutt.
England left Brisbane a laughing stock with Smith and Cameron Bancroft the double act who piled on the ridicule. How different they looked yesterday at Newlands as they owned up to cheating. Nobody is laughing now, at least not in Australia.
It looked like Australia were again attempting to undermine their opponents on and off the field in the first Test of this series. When Quinton de Kock and David Warner squared up on the dressing room steps it felt like a familiar tactic.
Boss the situation, establish the pecking order with Australia king beasts again. Afterwards Smith said De Kock had got “personal on the field” and that was “crossing the line, in my opinion.”
Warner described a “vile and disgusting” sledge from De Kock about his wife, which is unacceptable, but opponents know all about his habit of being personal on the field.
De Kock is one of the quietest cricketers around. His on-field presence and shy, off-field demeanour is far removed from his aggressive batting. It is unbelievable to think he acted without provocation.
Perhaps Australia’s mistake has been trying to rattle De Villiers with aggressive language. Nathan Lyon also dropped the ball near him when he was prone on the ground after running him out in the first Test. It was disrespectful and Lyon was punished for his actions.
De Villiers has responded with runs. A calm, classy cricketer, he has not resorted to ugliness, just a determination to win. He is the leading run-scorer in the series averaging 111, a triumphant return to Test cricket for a player many feared had lost his Test appetite.
Rabada looked like he had been suckered by Australia’s goading when he took his own behaviour too far in the second Test with a send-off for Warner and barging into Smith. He was banned but later had it overturned on appeal.
In Cape Town he has channelled his fury better, spectacularly splaying Warner’s stumps. Moments later Warner was abused by a spectator as he walked back to the dressing room, a yobbish moment that led Lehmann to call for action from Cricket South Africa.
That moral high ground crumbled around his feet when Smith admitted the ‘leadership group’ had cooked up the ball-tampering plan, the desperate act of a team faced with an opponent ready to stand up.