Big bans reignite debate

EVERY week The Chronicle sport team talks about the big issues in sport on the local, national and international stage. This week Glen, Jason and Sean are talking about – you guessed it – ball tampering and those bans.

Jason Gibbs: I can’t believe how big this issue has become.

Anyone would think Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft had taken to the South African players with their cricket bats.

Cricket bats that will be clean skins now that sponsors are dropping the trio quicker than Herschelle Gibbs dropped the 1999 World Cup.

Come to think of it – I reckon there would be less furore if someone did get hit with a bat.

Unfortunately the bans handed down to the players will only spark a new fire.

I think the bans, while a tad harsh, are still quite fair.

The offence in itself is not the biggest problem – it is the actions of the team, their attitude and hypocrisy that are of most concern

That behaviour was starting to turn fans away and Cricket Australia needed to take action to improve a toxic culture they allowed to grow and fester.

Anything less than six month bans would’ve seen the trio eligible for the One Day International series in June.

At first glance the “leadership bans” may seem harsh but I think they only make official a decision that would be made by CA “off the record”.

I doubt we will see Steve Smith as captain again – his players will question his ability to make the big calls – and we can ill afford to have David Warner anywhere near a leadership role.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see Warner in the Test team ever again.

Most importantly I think the whole saga will be a turning point for Australian cricket.

The players involved have been punished (through bans and loss of sponsorship dollars), future players will be less likely to commit such acts and Cricket Australia has taken a fair whack as well.

It’s a dark day for the game but there is a silver lining.

Sean Teuma: I really hope the handing down of penalties (which are incredibly over the top) marks the end of the whole saga.

The outcry on social media over an incident, which is regarded by the ICC as a onematch ban, has been ridiculous.

Grown adults were openly questioning how they were going to explain this to their children. No it wasn’t a potential war or refugee crisis they were losing sleep over, it was the shining of a six-ounce cricket ball.

Yes the premeditated nature of the act makes it worse, and they certainly deserve to be punished, but the stripping of the leadership roles and a 3month ban would have sufficed.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft will all learn from their mistakes.

They will lose endorsements, match fees and potentially overseas contracts as a result of this.

However for them to be openly declared as public enemies in Australia just doesn’t fit

the crime.

Glen McCullough: What else is left to be said except the “sandpaper-gate” hysteria has been way out of proportion to the crime.

But let’s pull back the covers and take a closer look at things and in a minute I’ll tell you why I think we can all take a little of the blame here.

First of all, don’t give me this stuff about cricket being a “gentleman’s game”.

I’m sorry. Professional cricket hasn’t been a gentleman’s game since players chose 40 years ago to take Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket money ahead of a Baggy Green.

Elite cricket is now a business and a haven for millionaire players and for them to remain in that league, personal success and winning is the only thing that counts.

So it stands to reason some are going to go rogue in order to stay at the top of the tree – by whatever means it takes.

We are also at fault here with the win-at-all-cost demands we put on our sport people.

There is relentless pressure for them to succeed – by whatever means it takes.

Also, don’t tell me it’s “unAustralian” to cheat. I no longer know what “Australian” or “un-Australian” means.

Our culture has changed so much over time.

Australia – in my opinion – has lost many of the values and traditions we were once famous and envied for.

My family, friends and work mates have seen this Australian cricket team train wreck coming for years.

How the hell didn’t cricket officialdom see it festering?

And if they did, why didn’t they do something about it?

Smith, Warner and Bancroft are now paying a price for that.

But others missing in action over the buffoonery and arrogance of a core group of people are equally to blame.