Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for 12 months on Wednesday after an investigation into the Australian cricket team's cheating scandal identified Warner as the instigator of the ball-tampering plan that unraveled in South Africa.
Cricket Australia said Warner "instructed" young batsman Cameron Bancroft to carry out the tampering on the field with a piece of sandpaper – even showed Bancroft how to do it – then misled match officials and tried to cover up his role in the cheating.
Smith, the top Test batsman in the world and the star of Australian cricket, knew about the plan. But the captain failed "to take steps to seek to prevent the development and implementation of that plan," Cricket Australia said as it released the findings of the investigation by its head of integrity that dragged in all the players, coaches and backroom staff for questioning.
Smith and Warner were banned from playing for Australia, or any high-level cricket in Australia, for a year. Bancroft, maybe because he's an impressionable newcomer in the team, received a nine-month ban.
Here’s how some of the greats of the game reacted to the ban imposed on the players.
Cricket Australia Right in Banning Smith, Warner: Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar feels that Cricket Australia has taken the “right decision” in banning the national team captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner for one year after being found guilty of ball-tampering against South Africa during the just-concluded third Test in Cape Town.
Smith and Warner have also been barred from playing the cash-rich IPL while young opener Cameron Bancroft has been suspended for nine months. Earlier, ICC had banned Smith for one Test match and fined his full match fee.
“Cricket has been known as a gentleman's game. It's a game that I believe should be played in the purest form. Whatever has happened is unfortunate, but the right decision has been taken to uphold the integrity of the game. Winning is important but the way you win is more important,” Tendulkar wrote on Twitter.
‘They Had to be Banned for 12 Months,’ Says Ian Chappell
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell doesn't see Steve Smith leading the national team again and said the country's cricket board was right to ban him and David Warner for 12 months.
They had to go for 12 months with Smith and Warner. I think if they would have only given six months to them and they tried to play in Australia’s next summer, the booing and crowd reaction wold have been so bad. It would have been very hard for the players and it would not have been a very good situation for Cricket Australia.Ian Chappell
12-Month Ban is Too Harsh: Shane Warne
Spin legend Shane Warne feels that the punishment handed out to the captain Steve Smith and his two teammates after their involvement in ball tampering was a bit too harsh.
I am still trying to wrestle with what I think the punishment should be. They have to be harsh, but if they are rubbed out for a year, the punishment does not fit the crime. Let’s take the emotion out of it. We are all feeling angry and embarrassed. But you need a level head and you shouldn’t destroy someone unless they deserve to be destroyed. Their actions were indefendable, and they need to be severely punished. But I don’t think a one-year ban is the answer. My punishment would have been to miss the fourth Test match, a huge fine, and be sacked as captain and vice-captain. But they should still be allowed to play.Shane Warne
Punishment is Too Harsh, But CA Had to Send a Message: Vaughan
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels that the 12-month bans for Steve Smith and David Warner are harsh, but Cricket Australia had to set a precedent and send a strong message.
Hope the Players Get a Fair Trial: Pietersen
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen expressed that he is gutted for Smith, Warner and Bancroft.
However, Pietersen was quite surprised to know that coach Darren Lehmann didn’t know about the ball-tampering plan.
(With inputs from AP and PTI)
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