Steve Smith, David Warner, Cameron Bancroft have all been penalised for being involved in ball tampering in a Test match in South Africa.
They used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball and got it to reverse swing very early in the game.
The duo pleaded guilty in a joint press conference after and chaos ensued.
Social media was up in a frenzy and reporters, news channels went in overdrive. Everyone started to form an opinion on what they thought was right.
Steve Smith and David Warner immediately stepped down from captaincy and vice-captaincy posts, respectively and now their future was being discussed.
But not once, not one person has questioned this behaviour. Not one person has asked, why did they need to tamper the ball.
Let me put things in perspective, over the years, a lot of emphasis has been given to the bat, the pitch, the fans, the stadium. But not once did anyone debate about the condition of the ball or the innovation, rather, lack of innovation with the ball.
We have seen mongoose bats, bats with thick edges, stumps with camera, mic, LEDs. Everything in the game has changed but the ball.
The only innovation the ball has seen is the change in colour. From Red leather balls in Tests to white in ODIs and T20s to Pink balls being used for Day and Night matches.
The Captain of Australia, Steve Smith, decided to tamper the ball after speaking to the leadership group since the ball was doing nothing and they were losing the battle.
The new ball swings in helpful conditions for about 15-20 overs. Unless the pitch and outfield is abrasive there will be little or no reverse swing. By the time a new ball is taken in the 80th over, a team is well set and probably looking to attack to counter the swing with the second new ball.
What is one to do?
Not justifying anyone's actions, but all I am trying to say here is, we need to look at what caused them to opt for such a dangerous and risky choice.
Let's focus the energy and rethink on what we need to do to curb such an incident in the future.
Can someone please take a look at the balls please? ;)
They used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball and got it to reverse swing very early in the game.The duo pleaded guilty in a joint press conference after and chaos ensued.
Social media was up in a frenzy and reporters, news channels went in overdrive. Everyone started to form an opinion on what they thought was right.
Steve Smith and David Warner immediately stepped down from captaincy and vice-captaincy posts, respectively and now their future was being discussed.
But not once, not one person has questioned this behaviour. Not one person has asked, why did they need to tamper the ball.Let me put things in perspective, over the years, a lot of emphasis has been given to the bat, the pitch, the fans, the stadium. But not once did anyone debate about the condition of the ball or the innovation, rather, lack of innovation with the ball.
We have seen mongoose bats, bats with thick edges, stumps with camera, mic, LEDs. Everything in the game has changed but the ball.
The only innovation the ball has seen is the change in colour. From Red leather balls in Tests to white in ODIs and T20s to Pink balls being used for Day and Night matches.
The Captain of Australia, Steve Smith, decided to tamper the ball after speaking to the leadership group since the ball was doing nothing and they were losing the battle.
The new ball swings in helpful conditions for about 15-20 overs. Unless the pitch and outfield is abrasive there will be little or no reverse swing. By the time a new ball is taken in the 80th over, a team is well set and probably looking to attack to counter the swing with the second new ball.
What is one to do?
Not justifying anyone's actions, but all I am trying to say here is, we need to look at what caused them to opt for such a dangerous and risky choice.
Let's focus the energy and rethink on what we need to do to curb such an incident in the future.
Can someone please take a look at the balls please? ;)
