[kuranda_bagman]

100% spot on with everything you say mate.

All those involved should be banned from all competitive cricket forever - No ifs or buts. They should also be required to hand in their Baggy Greens - I'm totally gutted over this despicable act.

Originally Posted by Frankie

Hopefully Smith and those involved will never play international cricket again. To knowingly cheat just can't be tolerated. But what really gets me is how did they expect to get away with it? This is a high profile Test series every move made on the field is picked up on camera and analysed. In the last Ashes Test series held in England Sky had 40 plus cameras focussed on the field of play. Don't know how many the SA broadcaster would have but I would think 10 would pick nearly everything up. So how did they ever expect to get away with it? Are their brains up their fuckin arses or something? Their arrogance is absolutely staggering.

[bazzap]

Excellent article by Tracey Holmes on the ABC website today

Dear Steve,


I've often thought about the pain and stress of having to make a long-distance flight home when someone close to you has unexpectedly died. I imagine not wanting to make small talk with the passenger seated next to me. I imagine waves of emotion like anger, sadness and distress. I imagine being dog-tired but unable to sleep. I imagine it possibly being the worst hours of one's life.

No-one has died in this instance, but the lonely journey awaiting you warrants some comparisons.

Not until today have I ever contemplated what it must be like to be flying home in your circumstances: as a captain of the Australian cricket team, who conspired to cheat and still believes he is the best person for the job.

No doubt you are going over and over what exactly you've done and the impact it has had.

Are you angry at yourself, or angry at the outcry back home? Are you distressed at the prospect of never captaining the country again, or do you genuinely think you deserve to have the "C" after your name still? Are you saddened by the prospect of a generation of kids who wanted to be "just like Steve Smith" and this morning are asking their parents "but why did he cheat?"


I do feel for you, Steve. I would not want to be in your shoes. But this was entirely self-inflicted. You made a bad/wrong/unethical decision and now are paying the price. Your flight home is taking you from the top of the world to one of the loneliest places on the planet.

I've heard reports that the team has been surprised by the outcry. I'm surprised any of you are surprised.

That perhaps is the root of the problem.

There's been no shortage of people lining up to speak about the arrogance of the team that has been allowed to build and fester. The team has developed a reputation for being quick to call out others' faults without ever seeing its own. Those who watch these things closely, from commentators to former captains, have spoken of "the bubble" and the fact that you've floated so far from the reality of normal people that you no longer know what reality is.

Reality is having two feet on the ground. It's reading the pulse of the society you supposedly represent. It's knowing right from wrong and having the courage, no matter how difficult, to make the right choice.

I can hear you saying, "but we all make mistakes". It's true. We do. But how many of us are chosen to wear the baggy green cap of the Australian men's cricket team — a position that until now has often had more respect than for those who serve as our political leaders?

Only 45 Australians have ever been made captain of the Australian men's team, you being the 45th. It's an exclusive club. It does not deserve the type of attention you have brought to it.

When politics turns ugly we turn to our sports teams. More than anything else in our culture it is our sports teams that bring us together. You unite us in a way our politicians can't. You do what many of us would like to. You have the talent and opportunity to represent us all. You are how we see ourselves egalitarian, underdogs, unafraid to take on the world and regularly punch above our weight.

Today that is not the case. Today there is a collective sense of embarrassment, anger, shame and disbelief. All of us are tarnished in the eyes of the world for what you and your leadership team did.

I've never seen such emotion and anguish on a national scale. Are you starting to understand the impact of what you've done?

Some have call for a life ban, others are more forgiving. After all, you haven't committed murder. But you have brought our name, all our names, into disrepute. Surely, the penalty for that must be significant.

The Rajasthan Royals, coming back to the lucrative IPL competition after their own integrity issues, did a thorough and extensive search to find someone who stood for ethics and values that surpassed the sporting field. They picked you. They signed you to a $2.4 million contract as the person who could lead them out of exile and onto centre stage as the team that stood for the highest values.


That mission has now been trashed.

Steve, unlike many that I've heard talking over the past 24-48 hours, I do have some empathy for you. For the rest of your life people will see the "C" next to your name and think it means "cheat". I don't think you will ever captain Australia again. That is a tragedy of your own doing.

But there can be redemption. You will need to work harder than ever to earn it.

We have seen you stand like a warrior at the crease, leading the team from the front and holding out your chest like you could take on the world. Well, here's your chance to do it again, but for something far more significant than an Australian sports team winning a match: this one is for all of us, this one is for Australia's reputation as much as your own. This, now, is your challenge.


Seek the help of those who can help you.

I hope you can do it, for all our sakes.

I wish you well,

Tracey

[bazzap]

I love this. Some bloke sent it to The Guardian not long before last night's press conference

Cricket has turned from a sport to a ritual in Australia. The team song with the wattle, visiting the graveyards in France, and of course the Legend Of the Baggy Green. This coincided with a time that the team were all but invincible, so, practices became sanctified, and indelibly associated with outcomes.


So when Michael Clarke tried to head off before singing the song he was nearly throttled. The Baggy Green became a sacred item - literally; Steve Waugh wore one that was battered beyond recognition. It was a holy relic. The G was referred to as ‘sacred turf’.


That’s right cricket became, to all extents and purposes, a cult. Or a religion, if you prefer.


Trouble is that if rituals are transgressed condemnation is wild and fierce. To Australians cheating at cricket became blasphemous. The only fitting punishment for such impiety becomes excommunication.


It was easier when cricket was cricket. Not forced to do double duty in binding a fragile society, forever unsure of its place in the world, together. Smith, Warner and Bancroft are now going to be taken to a place outside the city walls and ritually stoned.

[bazzap]

I just read an article on CricInfo today saying the current culture of the Australian cricket team is Steve Waugh's fault. The same article also calls Steve Waugh a cheat.


Written by a bloke called Osman Samiuddin who turns out to be a Pakistani cricket writer


Fancy a Pakistani labelling Steve Waugh a cheat? Obviously coming from the high moral ground of Pakistani cricket








Watched the NZ/England Test today from Christchurch. Good comeback by the Poms but the best thing for me was the lovely old-fashioned cricket ground. Far better than the soulless stadiums we use in Australia these days for Test cricket


Just my two bobs worth

[ukinoz]

been watching it myself baz,very entretaining and the crowd get right into it
that knock from gayle the other night was obscene
give me test cricket anyday but sadly i think in 10-20 years time you might only see a few countries playing it by then
fully agree on kohli,wanker of the highest order

[bazzap]

Q: When is a ban not a ban?

A: When your name is Steve Smith




Steve Smith named as Marquee Player in Canadian T20 tournament


It seems he will be back playing internationally by the end of June



Excerpt from the article from the ABC website

Smith was banned by Cricket Australia (CA) for 12 months for his participation in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa and was stripped of the Australian captaincy for two years.

The ban prohibits him from playing at state or national levels, and in Big Bash cricket.

It is understood CA is supportive of the opportunity for Smith to take part in the tournament, according to cricket.com.au.

Full article here




Can just imagine James Sutherland saying to him after the "ban" was dished out to him

"Don't worry Steve. Have a nice little holiday then we have you pencilled in for a T20 competition in Canada at the end of June for a couple of weeks after which you can have a nice time in Canada whilst the weather is lovely. Nice little earner too which will tide you over until we can find another T20 tournament for you to have a game or two in.

Enjoy the Rockies, mate"

What a fucking joke!!

[Frankie]

^
Funny how this "banning" thing has changed. In 1996 an English cricket pro, Ed Giddins, tested positive for cocaine. At the time he played for Sussex and appeared in a handful of Tests for England. Giddins thought he was only banned from First Class cricket, so as the season was approaching its end in England, he contacted a club in NZ that he had played for before as a pro to try and get a gig for the winter.

Initially the club were keen to take him on, especially as he was now a proven performer. However when they applied to register him they were informed that Giddins had a worldwide ban on him. Giddins wasn't aware of this so, his solicitor made further enquiries and he was in fact banned from every affiliated ground world wide. Not just for playing, but also as a spectator.

Basically he could only play/watch non organised cricket in local parks etc. Amazingly he saw his ban out and came back as a pro but his career was cut short with a shoulder injury. Giddins was interviewed by Paul Allott on Sky a few years ago and it was an amazing story. Giddins said during the ban he just practised bowling in a local park and, in the winter, on tarmac tennis courts. Allott said he would have packed in and done something else.

Different bans for different folks.

[Fork Handles]

I don't know how many of you guys will be aware of the major drug scandal the enveloped Aussie Rules a few years ago (And continues to reverberate).
A couple of clubs had employed a "sports scientist" to oversee their recovery programs, one particular club being heavily exposed to his treatments . Turned out he had no real qualifications and was suspected of administering banned substances. After years of legal bickering the players involved were found to have no liability, but coaches and officials were banned/fined for improper governance.
A number of players left and joined other clubs. One of them, Stuart Crameri, joined a club that hadn't won a trophy of any sort in 60 years.
Before the new season started, WADA stepped in and handed out a 12 month suspension to 34 players at the club in 2012 (with one exception, who could prove he hadn't had a jab.)
So before he had played a game at the new club, Crameri had to sit out the season. Destiny is a bitch. The team made the finals, and despite being the underdog in all four matches, duly won the premiership. Crameri wasn't allowed inside the ground, not even as a spectator. Watched the game at home on TV. They've played like shit for the last two years.

And just for Bazz....you might have missed this: James Hird's house got broken into last week. Money, jewelry and his Audi were taken. A 15 year old has been arrested. Karma's a bitch too.

[bazzap]

Originally Posted by Fork Handles

Crameri wasn't allowed inside the ground, not even as a spectator. Watched the game at home on TV.

That's how a ban is supposed to work. Smith & co should not be allowed anywhere near a cricket ground. According to the BBC website, Warner is going to Canada as well. Unbelievable!!!


I love my horse racing. Due to the money involved, it's the dodgiest "sport" of the lot. In Australia, apart from jockeys getting suspended for bad riding practices, not a week goes by without some trainer getting done for giving a horse illegal substances or others going outside of the rules. Some make the news, most don't.


James McDonald is one of the leading jockeys in Australia. He was Godolphin's main jockey. He just came back from serving an 18-month suspension. His crime? Putting $1,000 on a horse that he was riding in a race. He earns millions of dollars a year yet jeopardised that by doing a stupid thing. Money makes people do strange things. During his 18 month ban, he was not allowed to attend any race track except to ride in a few trials in the weeks leading up to his return to riding..


Ciaron Maher is a leading trainer in Melbourne. He has just returned from a 6-month ban. His crime? He did not know the true ownership of one of the horses he trained. He was lucky as all his horses and his staff were transferred to another trainer while he served his ban. Again, while he was banned, he was was not allowed near any racetrack or stables. Not even allowed to communicate with the bloke who took over the training of his horses. I doubt that happened but you get the point.



Australians love their sport but get caught cheating or breaking the rules and you are dealt with harshly. Quite right too. That's why it galls me to see Smith & Warner being allowed to play anywhere while they are supposedly banned.



Rant over

[Frankie]

Thing is what exactly are Smith and Warner banned from? Just international cricket? I see Boof has returned to the Aussie set up.