2018 Tour of South Africa

[Ghost Dog]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

That psyche is heavily influenced by the media who go to great pains to highlight any incident that paints Australia in a bad light but ignores completely the behaviour of other teams to make the contrast even more extreme. I look at the behaviour of teams like India, South Africa, and the West Indies, the number of incidents they're involved in, the number of reports against them, and then the good press they receive and see a clear bias from the Australian media, and non-cricket followers to demonize Australia.

No team is perfect and I'm not arguing Australia is. But I see Virat Kohli charge in screaming *!*!*!*! off as aggressively as he can 2 metres away from Steve Smith when he's been dismissed without a word mentioned, then I see a headline news story on ABC about Josh Hazelwood's appalling behaviour when he uses the F word in casual conversation with an umpire about how the 3rd umpire came to a conclusion. I see this and I know there's a concerted effort from sections of the media that see everything they hate about Australia as being represented by the Australian cricket team, and targeting them for it. That Nathan Lyon "disgrace" would never had even had a mention if the player on the receiving end was the Australian player.

The contrast between the last half a dozen ball tampering incidents and this one shows how desperate some sections are for a bad news story about Australia. CA should support their players and target the hate filled media rather than try to appease them, because all it does is embolden them to double down next time. It's classic weak leadership, Gillon would be proud.

You know, I am pretty hard on Australia at times. When I 'Thanked' this post I really do mean it.
Seeing Steve Smith break down just now, and reading about it, made me have a bit of a think about some things and your post made me do a similar bit of self reflection.
And anyway, at least we are not Pakistan cricket!

[Go_Dogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

The Steve Smith press conference was a gut-wrencher.

Glad to see the popular opinion starting to turn and realise the impact these bans are having. After vying for blood, the tide is starting to turn.

[Twodogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

The Steve Smith press conference was a gut-wrencher.

Glad to see the popular opinion starting to turn and realise the impact these bans are having. After vying for blood, the tide is starting to turn.

Hopefully public opinion turns because it's too much at the moment-and that annoys me because I've never liked Steve Smith and now I am feeling bad for him. Perhaps some of us have learned some perspective from this and can see just how ugly it looks when people pile in without really rhinking about what they are doing.

It's time for us all to engage our think brains. Apart from anything else the Bulldogs are often put in this position, where the AFL is going us and we need public support. If everybody is piling in with the "nasty bulldogs/free kick Bulldogs" narrative hen we ain't gonna get that support.

[Sedat]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Glad to see the popular opinion starting to turn and realise the impact these bans are having. After vying for blood, the tide is starting to turn.

Whilst I fundamentally disagree with some of the posters on here about the nature of the offences, the reasons for the outrage and the punishments handed out in comparison to other teams, I am in furious agreement with them in relation to the pious and hypocritical nature of the media in the reporting of this issue.

To smash the 3 known protagonists from pillar to post for the first 3 days, and then to go softly softly on two of them even though these two have since been found to deliberately lie about key aspects of the incident in a duplicitous attempt to cover up its severity, is laughable by the media (and the social media nuffies) in its bare-faced hypocrisy.

I get it's a pretty big story, and the pressers last night were brutal viewing, but Smith and Bancroft in particular have actually been found to be more culpable with their post-match presser lies and cover-ups in direct proportion to the media mob going easier on them - the difference between sandpaper and "yellow tape with some dirt on it" is massive in relation to ball-tampering. Meanwhile, Warner has said absolutely nothing on the issue since it happened (and was not even sanctioned by the ICC) and is now public enemy no.1 for this incident. I can't stand Warner and yet I feel some sympathy for him, with the entire cricket world and media getting their pitchforks out and bashing him up with bloodlust.

Outcomes of convenience are sporting organisation's stock in trade, and CA are no exception. They don't want to know about the very likely team-wide knowledge of ball-tampering (it's much easier for us to replace 3 batsmen for 12 months than 3 batsmen/3 pace bowlers/senior coach/bowling coach), and they also don't really want to know about the so-called culture of the cricket team - Sutherland has been at CA for 14 years and there have been numerous cultural bust-ups from the team on his watch. They have packaged up a set of punishments to as few people as possible in a nice little bow, and also ensuring that there's an expendable villain (Warner) who they can sheet the entire blame to. What if the cover-up exposes that the entire bowling line-up and coaching group were in on this and have been for some time? Lehmann's interview from earlier in the series and his comments on reverse swing and doing everything possible to get it happening is damning in light of this subsequent incident. Saffers were so sure this was taking place they instructed camera crews to follow the ball around constantly this series. The English were highly suspicious of the early reversing of the ball during the Ashes, and you have the footage of Bancroft shoving sugar in his pockets (to treat infection - lol). What happens then?

Also if people can't see the difference between bringing in an abrasive foreign object to scuff the ball, and the other individual issues mentioned as comparison, I can't help them. No team has ever been found to have senior players concoct a prior plan to off the ground to scuff the ball with a known abrasive object to illegally get it to reverse - not even the Pakis who are barely paid a minimum wage to play for their country. The examples of Faf (x2), Dravid, Tendulkar, Philander, etc.... are dodgy, and the ICC should have clamped down on the dark art much harder and much earlier, but they aren't in the same league as what we've done. Add to that the fact that we've passed judgement from the top of our ivory tower about other teams for many years, and there's your reason why this one has blown up in our faces.

Warner doing a tell-all interview in a few days time should be far more interesting than anything from last night's pressers. He has nothing to lose, is dumb as a box of hammers and has a short fuse - terrible ingredients for CA to be able to contain and control the narrative.

[Sedat]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

We were caught red-handed. If we weren't, there would be no Sutherland in Sth Africa making solemn press conferences, there would be no sanctions on the players, there would be no problem with Lehmann and the Australian cricket culture, and there would be no problem with Warner being the appointed attack dog in the team.

We're sorry......we were caught.

[Twodogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

We were caught red-handed. If we weren't, there would be no Sutherland in Sth Africa making solemn press conferences, there would be no sanctions on the players, there would be no problem with Lehmann and the Australian cricket culture, and there would be no problem with Warner being the appointed attack dog in the team.

We're sorry......we were caught.

Yellow handed. Clumsy is the word.

We were better at ball tampering in u\16s in the old FCA.

[DOG GOD]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Whilst I fundamentally disagree with some of the posters on here about the nature of the offences, the reasons for the outrage and the punishments handed out in comparison to other teams, I am in furious agreement with them in relation to the pious and hypocritical nature of the media in the reporting of this issue.

To smash the 3 known protagonists from pillar to post for the first 3 days, and then to go softly softly on two of them even though these two have since been found to deliberately lie about key aspects of the incident in a duplicitous attempt to cover up its severity, is laughable by the media (and the social media nuffies) in its bare-faced hypocrisy.

I get it's a pretty big story, and the pressers last night were brutal viewing, but Smith and Bancroft in particular have actually been found to be more culpable with their post-match presser lies and cover-ups in direct proportion to the media mob going easier on them - the difference between sandpaper and "yellow tape with some dirt on it" is massive in relation to ball-tampering. Meanwhile, Warner has said absolutely nothing on the issue since it happened (and was not even sanctioned by the ICC) and is now public enemy no.1 for this incident. I can't stand Warner and yet I feel some sympathy for him, with the entire cricket world and media getting their pitchforks out and bashing him up with bloodlust.

Outcomes of convenience are sporting organisation's stock in trade, and CA are no exception. They don't want to know about the very likely team-wide knowledge of ball-tampering (it's much easier for us to replace 3 batsmen for 12 months than 3 batsmen/3 pace bowlers/senior coach/bowling coach), and they also don't really want to know about the so-called culture of the cricket team - Sutherland has been at CA for 14 years and there have been numerous cultural bust-ups from the team on his watch. They have packaged up a set of punishments to as few people as possible in a nice little bow, and also ensuring that there's an expendable villain (Warner) who they can sheet the entire blame to. What if the cover-up exposes that the entire bowling line-up and coaching group were in on this and have been for some time? Lehmann's interview from earlier in the series and his comments on reverse swing and doing everything possible to get it happening is damning in light of this subsequent incident. Saffers were so sure this was taking place they instructed camera crews to follow the ball around constantly this series. The English were highly suspicious of the early reversing of the ball during the Ashes, and you have the footage of Bancroft shoving sugar in his pockets (to treat infection - lol). What happens then?

Also if people can't see the difference between bringing in an abrasive foreign object to scuff the ball, and the other individual issues mentioned as comparison, I can't help them. No team has ever been found to have senior players concoct a prior plan to off the ground to scuff the ball with a known abrasive object to illegally get it to reverse - not even the Pakis who are barely paid a minimum wage to play for their country. The examples of Faf (x2), Dravid, Tendulkar, Philander, etc.... are dodgy, and the ICC should have clamped down on the dark art much harder and much earlier, but they aren't in the same league as what we've done. Add to that the fact that we've passed judgement from the top of our ivory tower about other teams for many years, and there's your reason why this one has blown up in our faces.

Warner doing a tell-all interview in a few days time should be far more interesting than anything from last night's pressers. He has nothing to lose, is dumb as a box of hammers and has a short fuse - terrible ingredients for CA to be able to contain and control the narrative.

I've been pretty quite on this, but this sedat, is BRILLIANTLY written.

[Bornadog]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

In the meantime, SA batting 2/192

Australia

Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (c/wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Chadd Sayers, Josh Hazlewood

[Twodogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Faff a well deserved golden duck. Cheats never prosper, and Faff is officially the biggest cheat in cricket history-he's been caught tampering with the ball how many times now? And that's just the times he's been caught cheating.


*!*!*!*!ing hypocrite.

[Sedat]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/steve-smith-david-warner-sent-home-but-who-will-judge-the-cricket-australia-suits/news-story/4b1dcce97ba702a6fef06f99c4eafe15

Gideon Haigh's take on the evens of the week - a very good read that goes to the heart of the issues, almost all of which have been created by CA.

[Sedat]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Good day of test cricket. Saffers 6/313 but the Aussies fought hard all day and were rewarded with 4 wickets in the last session. Sayers got 2 on debut.

[Twodogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

An interesting article by Jarrod Kimber:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22950998/reverse-swing-cricket-ball-tampering-problem-plain-sight

Funny how we overlooked the problem until Australian gets caught.

One of the best quotes regarding this whole situation;

When Bancroft rubbed sandpaper on the ball, you heard a lot of Captain Renaults. It was Renault who uttered "I am shocked - shocked - to find that gambling is going on in here!" in Casablanca

Heh! That's a great name for all the self loathers who have been lining up to have their whack, the Captain Renaults!

Was it Frederich March who played him?

[Sedat]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Warner presser is a damp squib. Completely ignoring questions asked about who else was involved apart from Smith, Bancroft and himself, how long it has been taking place, etc... Not sure what is to be gained by hauling these blokes up for public execution when the real important stuff is once again being swept under the carpet by CA.

CA controlling the narrative once again - Warner answering questions with a legalese boiler plate response "I'm sorry, I take full responsibility for my actions, yada yada"

Some fantastic articles today in the newspapers, and all of them rightly finger the blame to CA for the culmination of their management in last week's incident. Sutherland, Peever and all the suits are surely cooked. The players are culpable for their actions but they have been enabled and even encouraged by their masters for many years now.

The 4 pressers (including Lehmann's) have all been excruciating but have answered precisely nothing.

[Topdog]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Warner presser on now. Journo directly asked him who else was involved. Probably the straightest bat Warner has ever played

[Twodogs]

Re: 2018 Tour of South Africa

Warner presser on now. Journo directly asked him who else was involved. Probably the straightest bat Warner has ever played

Truest thing I have read in this whole situation. The funniest too, great stuff TD.