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Close to the mark there 'Beas actually - this is a silly & ludicrous silent protest action devised by Coach & Captain about the double standards of officials
Smith even gave it away mentioning the frustration codswallop line but in pure reality what the Australian team needed to do was show resilience & character in the face of adversity in another country , just show some ticker for the badge
Resorting to the stoopid pretty much sums up where they sit in this series

BH, while I agree this may have been happening for some time, and there are two SA players who have been charged, you can only control and clean up your own back yard.
There is no point Australian cricket saying we play under the spirit of the game etc and then not dealing with their own players if they break it. Clean up your own mess and then you can pressure others to do the same thing

The classic example is Lehmann after day 2 talking about how disgraceful the crowd is in SA, yet in Hobart in 2016, where there were racial discrimination claims made by Amla by the Australian crown, Lehmann was not coming out and pushing for bans, his response was thats a shame if that happened.....

The next week will determine how likely CA are in getting their TV rights, which they need to help cricket continue to grow and develop in Australia.

Get it wrong and we will be back to the dark days like we were when we had the guys play a rebel tour of South Africa.

mikeh wrote:

Beasley Hutton wrote: Hmmm not condoning this act at all but gees there seems to be some double standards out there.
Australia have been caught and now charged (1st time) for ball tampering yep its disgraceful and against the spirit of the game but there is a long list of former players found guilty of the same offence including 2 who are playing in this very same Test match for the opposition one who was the Captain when caught in Hobart last summer and is still the Captain of South Africa now and yet no outcry over that?!

I really don't give a toss what other teams do BH. Australian cricket teams need to be better than what we have seen overnight.

Yep we need to be better Mike but I just laugh at all this moronic social/media driven outcry and over reaction to what happened overnight calling for Smith, Warner, Lehmann & co to be sacked and yet most of these buffoons wouldnt have a clue we are currently playing against convicted cheats one of whom was the SA Captain when caught red handed and still is to this day!!

I dont care if other countries players have done the same thing, that is for them to sort out, but I'm saddened that the leadership group would get someone like Bancroft to do their dirty work and unbelievably stupid for Bancroft to agree to it. The buck stops with Smith and his leadership group and they should bear the brunt of the penalties, Starting with Smith being stood down as captain, Warner would have been in on it so he cant take over and if Boof was involved then he should also be stood down, so Langer can take over and put some backbone and moral fibre into the national team. CA and the Australian media have always taken the high moral ground when others have been caught out and any attempt to say "well other countries players have done it" just doesn't wash or diminish this brazen cheating. CA need to take a strong stand or will lose any respect they may still have.

Senior Seagull wrote: I dont care if other countries players have done the same thing, that is for them to sort out, but I'm saddened that the leadership group would get someone like Bancroft to do their dirty work and unbelievably stupid for Bancroft to agree to it. The buck stops with Smith and his leadership group and they should bear the brunt of the penalties, Starting with Smith being stood down as captain, Warner would have been in on it so he cant take over and if Boof was involved then he should also be stood down, so Langer can take over and put some backbone and moral fibre into the national team. CA and the Australian media have always taken the high moral ground when others have been caught out and any attempt to say "well other countries players have done it" just doesn't wash or diminish this brazen cheating. CA need to take a strong stand or will lose any respect they may still have.

So so true SS, we are so keen to point the finger at other countries, so when we ( god forbid) get pinged, we use the excuse "oh everyone else does it so why does it matter if we do!"

From what I have read and heard about this S Smith has admitted that he and unnamed leadership group sanctioned this behaviour. Under those circumstances surely the only honourable step for S Smith is for him to step down IMMEDIATELY and all the others party to that decision should step down immediately as well.

Senior Seagull wrote: I dont care if other countries players have done the same thing, that is for them to sort out, but I'm saddened that the leadership group would get someone like Bancroft to do their dirty work and unbelievably stupid for Bancroft to agree to it. The buck stops with Smith and his leadership group and they should bear the brunt of the penalties, Starting with Smith being stood down as captain, Warner would have been in on it so he cant take over and if Boof was involved then he should also be stood down, so Langer can take over and put some backbone and moral fibre into the national team. CA and the Australian media have always taken the high moral ground when others have been caught out and any attempt to say "well other countries players have done it" just doesn't wash or diminish this brazen cheating. CA need to take a strong stand or will lose any respect they may still have.

Absolutely on the money SS. All those who were involved should be suspended immediately. Who cares what other countries have done...we should be about playing by the rules. The arrogance of the Australian team is breathtaking and all the crap around sledging, opposition spectators, Rabada is just a side show and something we all could do without.

Neither Atherton or duPlesis got someone else to do the cheatting for them.

I am just completely shellshocked at the moment. I have been following cricket since I was a kid. My 3 boys went through the junior cricket system. So many young cricketers aspire to play for Australia, only a very tiny percentage achieve that dream. It seems like these current players have totally lost perspective about what a privilege it is to play for your country and the responsibilities that come with doing this. I think it was Steve Waugh who said that players are custodians of the game and they are responsible for leaving the game in a better state when they retire. I have lost all respect for Smith because he is the person who could have stopped this conversation in its tracks at the lunch break but obviously lacked the moral fibre and leadership to do so. Then to allow the youngest member of the team to do his dirty work for him is reprehensible. At least Du Plessis didnt involve anyone else in his ball tampering. Smith deserves to lose the captaincy and perhaps his place in the team. I can't imagine that Lehmann wouldn't have been aware of this plan and if the investigation shows that he was complicit then he should be on the first available plane back to Australia.

This is the worst incident in Australian cricket since 1877 and will be a stain on future generations whom will not be able to live it down.

It is good to see that the SMH has already called for his resignation