Both of them though were clearly abused by the Aussies in the third Test at Cape Town against South Africa. Ball tampering has existed since years. Yet the manner of its execution by the Australian side enraged their fans and detractors alike across the globe. When it involves top players such as Steve Smith and David Warner who are also leaders of their side, cricket’s name is definitely maligned. It is no surprise that the word ‘cheat’ has been used for them and made many question Australia’s existence in the game.
But this isn’t the first time that the country’s cricket side have made the news for all the wrong reasons. Here are seven other instances before the Cape Town Test when Australian cricket had to see dark days, either for a short period or a long period of time
#1 The underarm ball incident (1981)
Australia took on Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in an ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1981. The game went right down to the wire as the Kiwis needed 6 runs off the last ball to make it a tie. Greg Chappell, the then Australian captain asked his younger brother Trevor Chappell to bowl that delivery under-arm to the Kiwi tailender Brian McKechnie. Something that was never done or heard of before.
Australia won the game to go 2-1 up in the 5 match series. Yet McKechnie’s frustration of throwing the bat away after facing such a delivery is an iconic visual in the game’s annals. The reactions that followed in both the countries were adverse towards the Chappell brothers. Having done nothing unlawful at that time, the laws were amended courtesy this incident to ban underarm bowling in international cricket. The spirit of the game came into question because of the Aussies for the first time perhaps in history.
#2 Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and the bookie (1994)
Arguably two of Australia’s biggest talents in the 1990s, Mark Waugh and Shane Warne were caught in a betting scandal. During the 1994 quadrangular ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka, Waugh was approached by an Indian bookie who called himself ‘John’. John paid him $USD 4000 in exchange of information related to the pitch and weather conditions for the matches they were a part of it. Waugh accepted the offer, even though he maintained that he didn’t divulge team-related information and strategy at all.
Waugh proved to be the one who introduced Warne to John at a casino there. John paid Warne $USD 5000 for the same reason, also claiming to be a huge fan of his. Both of them reportedly spoke thrice after that.
The scandal was thoroughly exposed in 1998 during an Ashes series in Australia. Although there was no evidence of match-fixing, Waugh and Warne were fined $USD 15000 for being involved with a bookie. A huge public outcry followed, more so after knowing that the Australian cricket board knew about this incident and kept it a secret for a few years. Waugh was infamously booed in an Ashes Test in Adelaide when he walked out to bat.
#3 Shane Warne and the drug scandal (2003)
Warne may have been one of Australia’s decorated performers on the field, but often it was his off the field antics that didn’t keep him on a high pedestal as say an Allan Border, Steve Waugh or Adam Gilchrist. Days before Australia’s first match of the World Cup 2003 in South Africa, the leg-spinner was sent back home and subsequently, banned for a year by the Australian board.
The cricketing world was left shell-shocked when Warne tested positive for consuming a banned, non-prescribed drug which he bizarrely claimed that he had no knowledge of and it was a diuretic which his mother gave him to swallow.
Reportedly, Warne used it to speed up the process of returning from a shoulder injury to be fit in time for the marquee event. While some sources claimed that he was a victim of his own vanity and used it to lose weight quickly.
It was amongst the top controversies that marred an otherwise outstanding competition. Australia may have been left to do without their strike bowler, yet rallied quickly to go on and remain undefeated to lift the World Cup.
#4 Monkeygate, Sydney (2008)
The Sydney Test match of 2008 would perhaps go down as the darkest in Australian and world cricket’s history. In a match that suffered from poor sportsmanship, grace and umpiring decisions, Australia went 2-0 up in the 4-match series against India. Australian skipper Ricky Ponting’s integrity was questioned severely when he didn’t walk after being dismissed, claiming two ‘on-the-bounce catches’, celebrating wildly and more so reporting his then-nemesis Harbhajan Singh to the umpires for racial abuse.
Apparently, Harbhajan had used a Hindi abusive word for Andrew Symonds, who had few words of his own to say before that. Unfortunately, that word was considered to be the English one called a monkey. All hell broke loose as India found more supporters and Sachin Tendulkar had to be the witness, for he was Harbhajan’s batting partner during the incident.
Nevertheless, many believed that Ponting’s captaincy was untenable for the team’s behavior in general. Indian captain Anil Kumble’s famous words ‘Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game’ summed up all the drama.
Eventually, Harbhajan’s punishment was downgraded from a 3-Test ban to a fine. It is believed that following a defeat in the next game at Perth, Australian cricket began to crack as Ponting rued the cricket board’s lack of support for his teammate and he couldn’t get along well with the top board authorities on several issues.
#5 Homework complete? No! (2013)
Another Australian controversy which had India as an opponent. In 2013, Australia toured India for a 4-match Test series a year after whitewashing them at home. However, Michael Clarke’s men were considered to be the weakest to be traveling to the country and not many gave them a chance to succeed. Things went from bad to worse after a heavy defeat in the second Test in Hyderabad.
Four players – Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja and James Pattinson were not considered for selection for the next match in Mohali. The reason being that they didn’t comply with coach Mickey Arthur’s instructions of submitting to him a short assignment which involved writing few aspects of where to improve and how to get back in the series. The ‘homework’ controversy snowballed in the media, which did go on to affect Australia as they were whitewashed 0-4. The banned players’ attitude was questioned and Australia became the laughing stock of the cricketing world during that period of time.
It also seemed to hasten Arthur’s exit as a coach as many of his relationships with the players got fractured due to this incident.
#6 Warner’s anger - Part I (2013)
David Warner’s mishaps can make for a book perhaps. He was involved in a nasty spat on Twitter with journalists during the team’s tour of England in 2013. Besides that, he also allegedly punched England captain Joe Root in a pub in Birmingham after Australia’s loss to England in the Champions Trophy. As a result, the opener wasn’t considered for selection for the Ashes Tests and reprimanded for his behavior.
It was believed to be the turning point of his career as it appeared that he had reformed significantly to be the game’s best opening batsman and a future captain of the team. However, on the ongoing tour of South Africa, Warner seemed to return to his ‘bad boy’ persona and courted unnecessary controversies featuring unsavory incidents with South African players such as Quinton de Kock and comments on game situations. The ball-tampering saga seems to be the final act of his career in Australian colors, which was supposedly masterminded by him.
Those dark days of 2013 could haunt him now. Was Warner responsible to a huge extent for Australia’s worsening cricketing culture? Time will tell.
#7 Steve Smith’s ‘brainfade’? (2017)
Steve Smith will now be considered as Australia’s former captain. It is a stunning reversal of fortunes for a man who was not long ago, tipped to surpass Sir Don Bradman’s several records in Test cricket. Skill wise, few could question his ability due to his impeccable form since 2014. However, his behavior as Australia’s captain has made many question his sportsmanship.
One of the major incidents before the ball-tampering one, was in India last year during a 4-match Test series. In the second innings of the second Test in Bengaluru, Australia were in the process of chasing 180 to win. The kingpin of Australia’s batting line-up, Smith was adjudged lbw of pacer Umesh Yadav’s bowling on 28. However, the Aussie appeared to be seeking advice from the dressing room to use the DRS on his batting partner, Peter Handscomb’s quick insistence.
This enraged Indian skipper Virat Kohli who was quick to alert the same to the umpires, who then denied Smith any liberty to do so. It was against the rules of the game. Even as India won, Kohli implied that his opposite number was a ‘cheat’ and that the Aussies tried to manipulate the game in their favor in ways like these more than once. Smith was quick to deny the allegation and called the moment a ‘brainfade’, apologizing for the same at the end of the series. No action was taken against either of them by the ICC eventually, though it snowballed once again into an issue between the BCCI and Cricket Australia.
Adding to that, the Australian team’s behavior was so appalling according to Kohli that the Indian captain publicly stated that he couldn’t remain friends with many of the players after the series. Something unheard of before for sure.
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