Shane Warne

Yes, you read that correctly. Do not adjust your set: In Praise Of . . . Shane Warne. It doesn’t happen too often, but the man who has built a career on spin – be that with a ball on the pitch, the thatch on his head, or the women in his bed – has finally delivered one that flies straight and true. Australia’s leading wicket-taker believes the country’s cricket bosses have caved in to incredible public pressure in placing ‘‘harsh’’ bans on bad boys Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

As much as we enjoy seeing the Aussie cricket fraternity choking on its holier-than-thou humble pie of hypocrisy, we have some sympathy for Warne’s view.

Ball-tampering has become as much a tradition in cricket as the boundary and baggy green. Stories abound of secreted oils, bottle tops and the odd lozenge.

The ICC, the sport’s governing body, regards it as a misdemeanour and was prepared to ban Smith and Co for just one match. That’s too lenient but the pendulum has swung too far the other way. Smith and Warner will be out of the game for at least 12 months, with club cricket their only channel back into the top level. In effect, this could spell the end of their representative careers.

Warne is right: Justice would have been served with the loss of leadership roles, a huge fine and exclusion from the fourth test.