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Cricket Australia announce Steve Smith has stood down as captain for the remainder of Cape Town Test. Warner stood down as vice captain too

Despite a fearsome bowling attack, Australia have struggled to get swing in the middle of innings in recent times. Only Zimbabwe average less movement after the 25th over in the last two years of Test cricket.

Here's a handy graphic showing the amount of swing Australia have found in overs 25-80 over the last 18 months.

The three Tests with the most swing are the last three matches.

Interesting.

Truly fabulous news story, this, fascinates in so many ways.

"stood down" as Captain & Vice-Captain? WTF? Both should be sacked with immediate effect, & the Team play the rest of the game without them.

I hope Bairstow sent Bancroft an "in your eye, Son" message overnight, too.

And rofl @ Smith saying "nah, I won't be standing down, lets just move on".

WTF has it got to do with Smith? It's not his decision. The selectors should snap sack him. Like right now.

How come other athletes and sportsmen/women can be and often are automatically banned for years or even life?

Why is it different for cricketers?

This is a single incident, more like a deliberate handball to score or stop a goal. Expect a ban after the test from the ICC.

Australia have been getting a lot of stick the last couple of years. Definitely a feel of "them and us". Far from an excuse - who could excuse this? - as it's not clear its cause is from outside the squad.

Yes, but the rule needs looking at. The "fine", apparently, is 5 runs. With over 400 runs on the board, what difference does 5 runs make?

Sack the lot of them.

Been trying to resist saying it, but it's just not cricket, is it?

Actually, I was a little hasty there in suggesting they be snap sacked, sorry, I got carried away.

Have them shot instead. Nice & slowly. Not fatally, but right in the ego area. 

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/143193.html

I think the hidden story in this is the success of TV. It's probably always gone on, much as we love to view the old days in sepia.

This was on the big screen and everyone saw it.

Steve Smith referring to it being a decision taken by the "leadership group" rather than front it up himself as captain is pretty lily-livered imo.

It is also pretty sinister that they recruited a young player to do some of the dirty work - shades of Mohamed Amir.

Yes, they have all been cheating for decades, it's not new & not unique to Australians, odious as they are.

Except England, obv.

England NEVER cheat. Ever. We lose instead. And we lose jolly well. 

Yup, agree.

The kid got hung out to dry, but when asked who the so-called "leadership group" were, he replied "no names".

Oh boy, can't wait for the next Ashes series here. I might even apply to join Barmy Army.

Anyone watch NZ v England overnight?

The Barmy Army all had yellow tape in their hands.

Incred.

 rotflmfao rotflmfao

sub editors having fun

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheCricketerMag/status/977853720103915520/video/1

Flicking thru some Twitter accounts today and saw a video of the bowler seemingly putting a Spoonful of sugar into his pocket during one of the Ashes test matches too.

Steve Smith has been fined 100% of his match fee and handed a one Test ban, Cameron Bancroft a 75% fine and three demerit points for ball-tampering incident.

absolutely laughable.

Gonna make sure I get front row seats for the next Ashes series here, the banter is going to be off the scale  ;yippee;

From what I have heard, this isn't going to wash in Australia.   Your average Australian seems to want him sacked too.

IPL contract in danger maybe....

“We have been made aware of the controversy of ball tampering in the ongoing Australia – South Africa series and await further instructions from BCCI, before we make any announcement. We at Rajasthan Royals will not tolerate any actions that are unfair by definition and bring disrepute to the game of cricket. Our Zero tolerance policy applies to everyone in our team. Please bear with us.”

– Ranjit Barthakur, Executive Chairman, Rajasthan Royals

I haven't watched all the coverage- how does tape help you tamper with the ball?

if you can rough up one side of the ball, it will swing more

Yep, got that but how does tape rough a ball

Sticky tape sticky side rubbed in half the ball One side of the ball then attracts dirt, grit etc so abrasion accelerates same as Atherton doing it with sweets in his pocket.

Shine the other side and then get the ball to reverse swing once the traditional new ball swing has worn off

Got it, I didn't think of transferring some of the sticky

A single incident? As has been mentioned by many commentators on this, how unlucky is it to get caught on your first ever attempt at pre-meditated cheating?

It's not just one incident though, I can think of the getting signals from the dressing room for when to use DRS too.

This Australia team are beyond contempt in general with their behaviour, but what do you expect when you have the likes of smith and warner being given free reign by Lehman?

The Oz public appears to have had enough, would expect them both to be relieved of their duties.

I'm currently working in a small, country Australia town. The general consensus is that Cricket Australia has to suspend them for at least a year, if not permanently. The locals are furious they've let down the nation, and rightly so. Anyway, we chose a good week to get bowled out for 58- what would normally be weeks of torment has come to an abrupt halt. If only this had happened a few months ago, would have been fantastic to start the ashes after this!

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next few weeks. So much arrogance in this Aussie lineup and they're about to get their come-uppance.

+1 to this.

I feel for Bancroft a bit, yes he could of said no I am not going to do that but he is new in the test team and it would of been hard for him to say no to Smith and the 'leadership group'. How many of us at his age and standing in the team would of said no skip I am not doing that?

"What happened in South Africa was clearly wrong, especially given that it appears to have been premeditated" say the Rajasthan Royals

Steve Smith will no longer captain his IPL franchise this season

Yup, cheating & skulduggery in Indian Cricket would never do.

The mock outrage over this is staggering.

Compare the financial doping rangers carried out against the hole of Scottish football for a period of over 10 years and the amount of press coverage between both.

It demonstrates what is wrong with this country.

Yah, almost no one cares about Scottish fitba tbf, certainly in comparison to the numbers in the countries that would enjoy seeing the Aussie cricket team get a kick in the teeth

Love the use of the "hole of Scottish football"; sums it up for the rest of us too.

Why is it mock outrage? People genuinely go nuts over the tiniest of things, why wouldn't some be angry over this.  People lost their minds over Bradley Wiggins using a TUE for instance and that wasn't even breaking the rules.

12month bans for Smith and warner is the gossip on twitter.

so either Lehman knew, then its a whitewash or he didn't know, in which case he's not in control of very much!

Assuming he knew nothing what does it say about him and the regard in which he was held by Smith and Warner?

meanwhile we are expected to believe the leadership group didn't contain a single bowler? Starc, Hazelwood, Lyon?

the statement

Steve Smith and David Warner have been banned from this year's Indian Premier League after receiving year-long suspensions from Cricket Australia over the ball-tampering scandal.

The Australian duo were set to captain the Rajastahan Royals and SunRisers Hyderabad before stepping down in the wake of the controversy.

But on Wednesday IPL chiefs announced that they would not be allowed to compete in the most lucrative cricket league in the world while banned by their own cricket body.

Cricket Australia suspends Smith & Warner for 12 months from international & domestic cricket; Bancroft for nine months

All three can play club cricket but will be required to undertake 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket

The bowler's must have known. At any reasonable level of club cricket, let alone Test cricket, the bowler's (whole team for that matter) have an obsessive relationship with the condition of the ball as it's relates to being favourable for swing. They might not have been involved in the premeditated element of it though.

It is an extraordinary sanction, financially it must be amongst the highest ever levied in any sport. Credit to them for taking firm action but it is really out there as a punishment. What they did is not that different from Faf du Plessis/Trescothick and their use of mints or Atherton and the dirt.

its not too different.

What is different is that the Australians have a self-perceived sense of moral superiority in such matters (some of this is reflected in their society, can be fined for walking across an empty road at 1.30am etc) thus the severity of the punishment reflects a deterrent element to pacfiy public opinion, politicians etc

here is the full second statement just released

Warner won't be considered for a leadership role ever!

You know as well as me Doobs that Wiggins is a cheat!

The mock outrage for me is a guy tried to nick an advantage it’s no different from the diving that goes on in football leagues across the world.

Taking PED’s or claiming illness to get round the rules and implications medical  pros is outright pre-meditated cheating.

Rangers robbed the tax man of millions we know of, how many more we don’t know about and this could have gone to a much needed public purse.

Other clubs impacted to which in turn causes further damage to the local community. 

Their behaviour far worse than anything the Australian cricket team or Sky Cycling done.

I found the Smith Bancroft press conference more distasteful than the actual cheating - theres so much cheating in pro sport h generally i cant get too agitated by this specific act. the punishment seems extremely harsh  even with the known context

You seem to make a lot of assumptions about how people should think.  I think Wiggins is likely an asthmatic and know increasing exercise is going to make symptoms worse if he does get asthma.  People who don't get asthma seem to struggle with this concept that there are sportsmen who get asthma, but it seems entirely plausible to me that there are people who barely suffer with asthma at all, suffer a great deal when cycling up a great big fucking hill.   Very few asthms sufferers suffer attacks whilst just moping around the house and sitting in front of the tv.   

If you haven't got any evidence, he is feigning illness, then it seems a bit odd that you think I should "know" that, and "know" he is a cheat.  I try not to make these leaps and think a bit about what I say.  You could make an argument about which asthma drug should be allowed and in what doses, and I have sympathy with that, but you are going much further.

To me, it seems that the Australia cricket team and Lance Armstrong clearly crossed a line, Wiggins didn't.

Seems a case of good old blighty doesn't cheat. 

Cycling is riddled with drug cheats the fact that Wiggins is ahead of the rest just adds weight to the fact he's a cheat in my book.  What he is doing is far worse than the Australian cricket team.

i don't think anyone is trying to compare this to any other sport

personally i am a middle class middle aged cricket fan. this has far more resonance to me than something in Scottish football, a sporting backwater of poor quality, Glasgow Celtic aside, and of little relevance to me but obviously the reverse is true for a Scottish football fan who doesn't watch cricket. horses for courses.

nor would i rush to the defence of wiggins or froome neither of which have been proved to have done wrong but of course the supposition is obvious. we could put farah in this category for example as well

Here you have admitted and blatant cheating that probably has been disproportionately punished for cultural reasons (Australian moral arbiter issues)

however i wouldn't put it in the same sphere as match fixing in any sport personally and i'd struggle to say "strong drug related suspicion">"admitted cheating" across two sports in terms of severity of punishment

 

Bizarre how much weight every apportions to their own certainty that he's guilty. Some evidence would be so much more compelling.

I think Wiggins is a cheat fwiw (40% of elite cyclists have asthma lollllllllllllllllzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz).  I have had this debate this lunchtime with a few pro punters/gambling industry types and said  'who is worse?'  A world class 100m sprinter taking roids to get an edge (pre mediated) or the bunch of comical aussie jokers who actually planned this and thought they could get away with it in front of hundreds of cameras?   One gets banned for 4 years and second time a lifetime ban.  The cricketer gets banned for one year and who knows what if they re offend.  the difference between 1 year and 4 years seems incredible given both are pre mediated forms of cheating in top class sport.

A one year ban  for this seems incredibly generous to the players given some other test players got banned for four? years for spot fixing on the number of wides or no balls in a over which doesn't change the outcome of the game at all compared to what this level of cheating could do.

The only three people I know who are asthmatic are Froome, Wiggins and my Daughter. The fact she hasn't won or even competed in the Tour De France really rankles me.

I lolled.

Think there is a fine line in your last sentence there Rich. The bans handed out for spot fixing, tho obv they have added issues re influencing certain overs for financial gain for others are bigger than the bans handed out to these 3 players. Here they have admitted tampering with the ball to try to influence the outcome of the match.

Great to see an individual sports governing body take its own action to discipline cheating tho, didn’t the ICC hand out just a 1 game ban to the players the other day?

Fair play to the Aussies for treating them hard in relation to other ball tampering episodes in the past imo.

Top bombing sir.

This.

If only football were to do the same.

Every penalised action on a football field is contested, every decision appealed, the players nick a yard at every throw in, at corners they try to move the ball a few inches outside the quarter circle, goalkeepers wander across to the other side to take goal kicks (to waste time), & I've yet to see a penalty awarded where the players don't do that "not me Sir" thing with hunched shoulders & outstretched palms.

Cricket was quick & decisive here. Love it.

I think Smith and Warner were ripe for a fall due to their antics over the last couple of years - I especially went off them after the sledging of Johnny Bairstow which was clearly to me (reading between the lines) to do with his dad's suicide although it was only reported as "crossing the line".

Like Nirvana I was sickened by the smug attitudes in the presser directly after "tapegate" and Cricket Australia must have felt thoroughly galled by the entire episode including the events leading up to it. including the singling out and attempted slurring of Jimmy Anderson for cleaning dirt off the ball thusly putting themselves above such behaviour. a by-product of which was effectively setting themselves up for such a harsh punishment which may in a vacuum seem over the top for a simple piece of ball-tampering.

It took them 3-4 days of fact finding to make sure they apportioned the blame correctly. And in football people are moaning it takes 2 minutes for VAR to make a decision based on looking at the facts, not the guess of an official at full speed.

I think the way Cricket Australia has dealt with this has been excellent really.

I happened to have registered for an account with them when setting up my fantasy big bash team and everyone with an account has received 3 updates this week, keeping everyone informed of what the current situation was and all were sent a copy of the statement personally addressed from the Head of CA, Mr. Sutherland

I been thinking a lot recently before this came out that there it irked me that Australia seemed to think it was their place to set the line in terms of what is ok and what isn’t with reference to sledging etc. So there’s definitely a significant feeling of schadenfruede for me, watching Smith and Warner who come across as the 2 most irritating members of the side get their comeuppance

Having heard their explanation I sort of believe that Lehman didn’t know about it, maybe that is naive, but there’s no way the bowlers weren’t at the very least aware of it.

Warner has been copping a fair amount of shit too over the fact his wife shagged Sonny Bill Williams, whenever you see him losing his rag they are usually needling him about that. Would normally say it was out of order, but in his case he probably deserves the payback!

Haha, and excellent use of rankles

Winning the Tour De France would be excellent use of her ankles  ;marks;

Fking hell, if it wasn’t OTT before it is now, there is a vid of Steve Smith being escorted probably by the police through the airport. Makes him look like a huge criminal, I’m sure it’s just for security purposes but he doesn’t deserve that!  :(

(https://media0.giphy.com/media/4MHv5aIo6SI2A/giphy.gif)


Cricketers, and his pension... The only things Woodsey cares enough about to get riled ;D

When you see the video tell me then I’m wrong, I’m all for Steve Smith and especially David Warner getting a huge dose of comeuppance but that is just way OTT.

Btw, cricket and pension are not even top 5 of things I care about, shit read, but that’s why we’re both shit poker players these days right?  :P

I've always been shit :D

There are studies available on exercise induced asthma

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1938228-overview#a6 (https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1938228-overview#a6)

EIA affects 12-15% of the population. Ninety percent of asthmatic individuals and 35-45% of people with allergic rhinitis experience EIA, but even when those with rhinitis and allergic asthma are excluded, a 3-10% incidence of EIA is seen in the general population. [3]

EIA seems to be more prevalent in some winter or cold-weather sports. [12] Some studies have demonstrated rates as high as 35% or even 50% in competitive-caliber figure skaters, ice hockey players, and cross-country skiers. [13, 6]

An observational cohort study of 149 pediatric asthma patients found that exercise-induced bronchoconstriction was present in 52.5% of these children. [14] 
...
With proper interventions, the prognosis is excellent for athletes with asthma. Most symptoms can be prevented, and performance should not be limited by EIA with proper treatment (see Prognosis).
...
Prognosis
The prognosis is excellent for athletes with asthma. With proper interventions, most symptoms can be prevented, and performance should not be limited by EIA if this condition is treated properly. Newly diagnosed young athletes need to be educated that this condition should not be perceived as an insurmountable disability. Using examples of the numerous elite athletes (eg, Jackie Joyner-Kersee [track and field Olympian]; Amy Van Dyken [Olympic swimmer]; Jerome Bettis [former running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers]) with this condition can help young impressionable athletes continue in their endeavors without fear of failure or medical distress.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/29/elite-athletes-asthma-simon-yates-team-sky-swimmers (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/29/elite-athletes-asthma-simon-yates-team-sky-swimmers)

Much more common in sport is exercise-induced asthma, or EIA, in which rapid and heavy breathing causes the same symptoms. The effect can be exacerbated by atmospheric conditions, which means some sportspeople tend to suffer more than others.

John Dickinson from Kent University’s school of sport & exercise sciences, a world expert on asthma in sport, tested all 33 UK-based members of the British swimming squad and found 70% had some form of asthma, against a national asthma rate of about 8% to 10%. It is believed the chlorinated atmosphere of a pool could be a factor in this.

Cycling is another sport where EIA is common – Dickinson’s test on cyclists from Team Sky found a third have the condition. Rapid inhalation of cold, dry air has been identified as a trigger of EIA. Around half of elite cross-country skiers have the condition, as does Paula Radcliffe...

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/25/alberto-salazar-case-expert-says-athletes-are-particularly-asthma-prone (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/25/alberto-salazar-case-expert-says-athletes-are-particularly-asthma-prone)

What’s causing the higher prevalence are the risk factors that the athletes are putting themselves through,” he said. “If we look at exercise-induced asthma, the main trigger is breathing unconditioned air into your lower airways. If you think about when you’re at rest, most of the air you breath comes through the nose and can therefore be warmed, humidified and filtered. It protects your lungs from potential provocation and inflammation that would lead to an asthma response.

“An athlete increases their breathing rate which results in them switching from nose breathing to mouth breathing. In sports such as cycling, running and swimming they are going to breathe 99% of air through their mouth. They are also going to breathe a lot of air. It means their lower airways are going to have to do a lot of the conditioning, causing an inflammatory response and then a bronchial restriction around the airways.

“Because athletes are subjecting themselves to this ventilation over a prolonged period of time, they’re more likely to develop an asthmatic tendency. In the general population we see the same thing for people who have jobs in a polluted environment.”

The national asthma rate in Britain is around 8-10% and Dickinson dismissed the notion that inhalers could be used to enhance an athlete’s performance unless used in extreme excess. He added: “If inhaler drugs are taken as prescribed, in therapeutic doses, there’s not really any evidence to show they improve performance. If you take ridiculously high doses, there is perhaps potential to improve sprinting power.”

I welled up watching this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/43580069

Lehmann resigns, too.

Sad times all round, let's hope they forgive themselves are forgiven by the people that matter and move on positively quickly.

Nice defence of high incidence of asthma.

One of the main points against Wiggins was that he was prescribed triamcinolone. The same Dr Dickinson you referred to above had this to say:

Dr John Dickinson, of Kent University, who has worked with more than 1,000 athletes with breathing problems, said he had never prescribed triamcinolone to an athlete.

He said: "That sort of medication [is] typically reserved for individuals who are in a very severe asthma response and are in need of emergency care which would suggest... that particular individual may be not fit and well to compete in a race at that point in time.

"I've never been myself involved with an athlete that's needed to go that far in terms of that sort of treatment for an asthmatic condition.

There is so much out there from the medical profession about triamcinolone and particularly with the performance enhancing qualities (loss of weight without loss of power) it is difficult for me to accept Wiggins was not cheating. Add to that all the nonsense with Sky, lack of medical records, lost computers, Dr Freeman etc etc.   And then you have the strong association of the drug with confirmed dopers.

It was a decision of the 'leadership group'? Cheating with brown sugar/yellow tape and crying like babies.

Get's my goat when people so readily peg themselves as 'leaders' these days. Believe me that ain't no leadership group.

I said higher up, you can argue about the medicine, comments like lol asthma just show a lack of understanding.  Facebook and twitter were full of similar comments.  It seems very probable that he genuinely has exercise induced asthma, given the tests showed a third of Sky cyclists had it.  If he genuinely doesn't have asthma, then there would be some evidence by now?

wiggins is a laughing stock.

'lol asthma' isnt merely an ignorant comment by his detractors, it's essentially his defense.

and it's risible.

How could there be any evidence that he didn’t have asthma? I’m not sure there could ever be any evidence to prove that. Unless of course a Doctor who has previously diagnosed him with the condition changed his mind…

FWIW, I’m with you on your points about asthma and hence my comment about nice defence. So I’m not questioning if Wiggins had asthma or pollen allergies. Who knows.

I should have linked my reply to your other comments on the thread:

People lost their minds over Bradley Wiggins using a TUE for instance and that wasn't even breaking the rules.

To me, it seems that the Australia cricket team and Lance Armstrong clearly crossed a line, Wiggins didn't.

Sure, he secured his TUEs on medical evidence provided by Dr Freeman and technically Wiggins  hasn’t broken any cycling rules because of the TUE  but it seems irrefutable to me he systematically and knowingly cheated the system for his own benefit. I’ve formed that view from what I’ve heard and read from a whole raft of scientists, Doctors, investigative journalists, specialist broadcasters, pods, dopers,  cyclists and even politicians in the DCMS report. TBF the report didn’t add much to what was already out there.

He has clearly crossed the line and in some considerable style. Feted by the country, adulation, SPOTY, Knighthood and huge financial benefits etc. etc.  All sickening IMO.

I don't know if you meant this but it seemed a genuine moment of emotion and I think he may feel somewhat contrite and not just cause he was caught..maybe.

Did you catch the Warner press conf ? Wondered what you thought of that one - made me vom tbf - extra 2 years for that perf imo

Yes, I meant it genuinely, it gave better context than we had seen hitherto.

I saw the Warner cameo too. No sympathy for him, none at all. He's toast.

Really? We've all made big mistakes. He should be forgiven.

I think, as the story unfolded, it became clear that Smith was a poor Captain - he willingly looked the other way instead of saying "no" - rather than a bad person.

Warner, however, is a 100% wrong 'un, rotten through and through, and the architect of the whole thing.

In a perverse way, I've thoroughly enjoyed the story. Nobody died or got hurt, we got to see the evidence, and the villains paid their bills.

Love a happy ending, me.

Everyone makes mistakes, yes, and my default is to forgive, as all of us should.

Warner though did not "make a mistake", he's just a bad person. Proper bad.

Get choked up watching vids of animals going mad when their owners come back from deployments etc.

Yeah, I can relate to that.

I just thought 'what a fanny', when I saw him grizzling in that press conference.

Chaps, I mispoke and I'm on your side completely.

Listen to "Like a Hurricane" all the racists and hateful bastards hate it

Is there some hidden meaning in that? :D

It was a misclick, great song though!

Just listened, and some serious guitar tekkers.

Timeform double squiggle in my book.

Pathetic crocodile tears shouldn't fool anyone.

Ruined his future sledging career too :)

Haha , tremendous fun to be had if he ever does a sledge again

From watching warner's press conference, it seems a very high probability that A) they have done this before and B) There were other players that knew about it. His ridiculous parrot repetition of his stock phrase when these Qs were posed to him is hugely suspicious.