Australian ball tampering is just not cricket
THE cheating by the Australian cricket team on Saturday does not represent the average Australian person.
The use of ‘‘sandpaper’’ to change the nature of a cricket ball so it would swing more is cheating but, even worse, it was known and supported, if not encouraged, by the leadership group, although leadership isn’t really the appropriate word anymore.
Cricket is meant to be the ‘‘gentleman’s game’’ although this test series has been marred by bad behaviour. Initially, it was sledging, the use of insults — often involving family members — to distract the batsmen. This is not harmless fun, it is cheating. The crowd contributions did not help either.
The argument that ‘‘they did it too’’ is infantile and is not a valid explanation. If something has been done wrongly, then it should be reported and acted on.
A national team is representative of its country, but not this team. Is it naive to think that games should be played fairly and as honestly as possible?
Although the game may be foreign and confusing for people who don’t know, or play, this specific sport, the lesson of fair play applies to all sports and should be the first priority of both teams. Dennis Fitzgerald
Melbourne
HAVING attempted to defend some sledging and the use of shortpitched bowling recently in this paper, the Australian attitude in the present South African cricket series has left me rather confused.
First up, Australia complains about the crowds’ sledging of choirboy David Warner. In South Africa’s last tour of Australia the crowd called Hashim Amla a terrorist in graffiti.
So, after Australia tried to occupy the moral high ground over the sledging of Warner, it all came crashing down when, a couple of days ago, the Australian captain admitted to being part of a ‘‘ball tampering’’ plan.
Cheating in sport is a ‘‘no, no’’, much worse than sledging or shortpitched bowling and this incident will go down alongside the underarm bowling delivery as a dark day in Australian cricket history.
Oh, and Australia lost the game by 322 runs and the two Australians at the centre of much of the drama were involved yet again when Warner ran out his teammate and ball tamperer Bancroft.
There is karma. John Cushen
Dunedin
DON’T be surprised if lovers of fair cricket display a yellow taped middle finger to the Australian team when they take the field in South Africa. Brian Morris
Picton
True heroes
IN a troubled world we are very lucky to have true heroes. The
Greeks knew the importance of men like Achilles. Gods really.
Today’s version of a Greek herogod is a man with flowing blonde locks and deeply tanned skin. A man who, by his own modest account, when faced with a bloody massacre would rush emptyhanded into the fray and destroy the villain with biceps rippling.
Such a godlike man is Donald ‘‘Bonespurs’’ Trump.
How lucky we are.
Ewan McDougall
Broad Bay
Reunion
Aim family: Descendants of William and Agnes Aim are invited to the Aim family reunion at the Tasman Club, New Plymouth, from March 30 to April 1, 2018. Inquiries to Peter Aim, proddy429@gmail.com ..................................
BIBLE READING: ‘‘Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in Him who sent me.‘‘ — John 12:44.