Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have all been hit with career-changing bans as the extent of their lies and deception during the Australian ball-tampering scandal became clear.
Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have all been hit with career-changing bans as the extent of their lies and deception during the Australian ball-tampering scandal became clear.
On another breathless day in South Africa all three were found guilty by their board of misleading match officials during the third Test in Cape Town. Smith and Bancroft then lied to the media, claiming sticky-tape had been used to change the condition of the ball. In fact, it was sandpaper.
Both Smith, heckled with cries of 'cheat' as he got a police escort through Johannesburg airport en route to Sydney, and Warner – his former vice-captain and the architect of the plot – have been kicked out of the game for 12 months. Coach Darren Lehmann said he feared for the players 'mentally'.
Warner has been barred from holding a leadership position again – and may have played international cricket for the last time.
Smith has been disqualified from the captaincy for two years: when Australia defend the Ashes in England in 2019, he will not be at the helm. Both have been banned from this year's IPL by the Indian board, missing out on contracts worth £2.6m between them, though they are currently free to play other overseas domestic cricket and grade cricket in Australia.
Bancroft, meanwhile, has been banned for nine months. Both he and Warner have lost their sponsorship deals with sports-equpiment company Asics, while all three players will undergo 100 hours of 'voluntary service in community cricket'.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland described the trio as 'very sad and disappointed and remorseful for what has happened'. It is a staggering fall from grace.
But, to widespread disbelief, Sutherland continued to exonerate Lehmann, insisting his now infamous walkie-talkie chat with Peter Handscomb had been to ask Australia's 12th man 'what in the hell is going on' after TV cameras rumbled Bancroft's wrongdoing. Reports suggested Lehmann's language had been rather fruitier.
Later in the day, Lehmann finally broke his silence. 'The players have made a grave mistake but they are not bad people,' he said. 'There is a human side to this. I hope people will give them a second chance. I worry about the three guys mentally.
'We know we have let so many people down. We are truly sorry. There is a need for us to change the way we play. We need to work to bring the respect back from the fans.'
Australian cricket player Steve Smith, center, is escorted by police officers to a departure area at OR Tambo International airport in Johannesburg. Photo / AP
Not everyone agreed with the severity of the punishment. Shane Warne admitted the revelations had been 'embarrassing', but argued: 'The jump to hysteria is something that has elevated the offence beyond what they actually did, and maybe we're at a point where the punishment just might not fit the crime.'
And even Michael Vaughan, who has led the mockery of Australia's plight on social media, tweeted: 'Steve Smith I think is a good guy who made a huge mistake. He needed punishing but I think this is too harsh. Bancroft, who I don't know, was led astray but deserved punishing but again too harshly. The other guy I really don't care about.'
Yet the wording of CA's statement made it clear that the players had either withheld the truth or lied altogether – despite Smith and Bancroft earning praise in some quarters for owning up during Saturday evening's press conference.
Smith, who three months ago was the toast of Australia after leading his side to Ashes glory, was found guilty by the head of CA's integrity unit Iain Roy of knowing about the ball-tampering plan but doing nothing to stop it.
Worse, he was part of an on-field conversation between Bancroft and umpires Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong in which the Australian opener – having stuffed the sandpaper down the front of his trousers – appeared to claim that the only object he was carrying was a black cloth for cleaning sunglasses.
Finally, Smith had made 'misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants of the plan' – a reference to his claim that the team's leadership group knew what was happening.
That enraged the other members of that group, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, none of whom have been implicated.
But the most serious condemnation was reserved for Warner, who was charged with a variety of offences, including concocting the plan in the first place, 'instruction of a junior player' to carry it out, then attempting to conceal his involvement.
In a phrase that did not immediately tally with CA's claims that the Cape Town incident was a one-off, he was also guilty of 'provision of advice to a junior player regarding how a ball could be artificially altered, including demonstrating how it could be done'.
Sandpaper, said Sutherland, was a regular part of players' kitbags, used to smooth down their bats.
It is understood that Warner, who is set to lose his lucrative sponsorship deal with Korean electronics firm LG, may appeal against the ruling. For now, he is persona non grata, with his board, his team-mates and opponents.
Jonathan Trott, the former England batsman who was mocked by Warner for having 'scared eyes' during the Brisbane Test of 2013-14, spoke for many when he tweeted 'Goodbye David,' accompanied by the image of a waving hand.
CRICKET AUSTRALIA'S RESPONSE TO BALL-TAMPERING BOMBSHELL
STEVE SMITH * Banned from playing for Australia for 12 months, also barred from playing domestic first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket at home * Sacked as captain. Banned from holding any leadership position for 24 months * Won't be considered for a national contract in 2018-19 (current deal believed to be worth $2 million)
DAVID WARNER * Banned from playing for Australia for 12 months, also barred from playing domestic first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket at home * Sacked as vice-captain. Banned from holding any leadership position ever again * Won't be considered for a national contract in 2018-19 (current deal believed to be worth $1.4 million)
CAMERON BANCROFT * Banned from playing for Australia for nine months, also barred from playing domestic first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket at home * Banned from holding any leadership position for 21 months * Won't be considered for a national contract in 2018-19 (was set to earn a deal worth more than $500,000)
ALL THREE *Encouraged to play grade cricket in 2018-19 *Required to undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket
OTHER PUNISHMENTS: * BCCI has blocked the trio from playing in this year's Indian Premier League. Smith and Warner were set to captain their respective franchises and take home $2.4 million * ECB yet to indicate whether Bancroft's county deal will be voided
WHAT CRICKET AUSTRALIA ALLEGE THEY DID WRONG
SMITH * Knew of a potential plan to tamper with the ball * Failed to stop it from happening * Directed Bancroft conceal evidence * Sought to mislead match officials regarding Bancroft's attempts * Made "misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent and participants"
WARNER * Developed a plan to tamper * Instructed Bancroft to tamper with sandpaper * Advised Bancroft and demonstrated how to tamper * Failed to stop it from happening * Failed to report his knowledge of the plan at any time, prior to or during the match * Misled match officials through the concealment of his knowledge of and involvement in the plan * Failed to voluntarily report his knowledge of the plan after the match
BANCROFT * Knew and was party to the plan (artificially altering the condition of the ball using sandpaper) * Carried out instructions * Sought to conceal evidence * Sought to mislead match officials and others regarding his attempts * Made "misleading public comments regarding the nature, extent, implementation and participants of the plan"
WHAT NOW? * All three players are returning home in shame * Players have seven days to consider their response. They have the right to accept or reject the charges, sanctions or both * Warner, having been painted as the chief architect who corrupted Bancroft, may never be accepted in the dressing room ever again * Tim Paine will lead the side in the fourth Test and beyond * Darren Lehmann remains coach, with CA satisfied he had no idea about the plan * CA will launch an independent review into the team's culture and conduct.
THE MISSED MATCHES
SMITH AND WARNER England (away), Jun 2018: Five ODIs and one Twenty20 clash Zimbabwe (away), Jun/Jul 2018: One Test, three ODIs Bangladesh (home) Aug/Sep 2018: Two Tests, three ODIs Pakistan (away) Oct 2018: Five ODIs, one T20 South Africa (home) Oct/Nov 2018: Five ODIs, three T20s India (home) Nov 2018 to Jan 2019: Four Tests Sri Lanka (home) Jan 2019: Two Tests, three ODIs India (away) Feb 2019: Five ODIs, two T20s Pakistan (away) Mar 2019: Three Tests
BANCROFT England (away) Jun 2018: Five ODIs and one Twenty20 clash Zimbabwe (away), Jun/Jul 2018: One Test, three ODIs Bangladesh (home) Aug/Sep 2018: Two Tests, three ODIs Pakistan (away) Oct 2018: Five ODIs, one T20 South Africa (home) Oct/Nov 2018: Five ODIs, three T20s India (home) Nov 2018 to Jan 2019: Four Tests
