The Cricket Season of 2018/19

[aussieashley]

I'm pretty sure part of the punishment was that Warner will never again be considered for any leadership position, and Smith and Bancroft must wait 12 months after serving their ban before they can be considered for a leadership role. So Smith has to wait another 12 months after he comes back (unless they've changed their mind on that). Or I guess he could maybe captain but not be named as Captain on the sheet.

[Grumpy8]

If they make any of the cheats captain they will lose this fan forever!Once a cheat, always a cheat.

If the truth was known all sides who get reverse swing have been cheating , we were just stupid enough to get caught and we used sandpaper instead of Vaseline , mints , sand , etc . Why don’t guys like you refuse to go games involving South Africa and Sri Lanka both their captains have been caught twice , it’s still un Australia it’s still cheating and surely it’s worse when they do it to us

[Steve]

If the truth was known all sides who get reverse swing have been cheating , we were just stupid enough to get caught and we used sandpaper instead of Vaseline , mints , sand , etc . Why don’t guys like you refuse to go games involving South Africa and Sri Lanka both their captains have been caught twice , it’s still un Australia it’s still cheating and surely it’s worse when they do it to us

Because they lied about it, and didn’t agree they did it on the day. Even when it was on the big screen

[Grumpy8]

Because they lied about it, and didn’t agree they did it on the day. Even when it was on the big screen

So it’s ok to do it as long as you admit it if you get caught . Sth African somehow thinks what he did was different and hasn’t really admitted to ball tampering. There are lots of people who want to kick the Aussies but are happy to allow the opposition to cheat us ,same goes for sledging , I wish at the least the morally outraged could be consistent

[Steve57]

If the truth was known all sides who get reverse swing have been cheating , we were just stupid enough to get caught and we used sandpaper instead of Vaseline , mints , sand , etc . Why don’t guys like you refuse to go games involving South Africa and Sri Lanka both their captains have been caught twice , it’s still un Australia it’s still cheating and surely it’s worse when they do it to us

I support Australian cricket, not any other country.
If we have to stoop so low as to select cheats , then I will withdraw my support for my team.

[AndyP]

I support Australian cricket, not any other country.
If we have to stoop so low as to select cheats , then I will withdraw my support for my team.

You may as well do it now, because it will happen. It is highly likely that there are cheats already in the side, or at least those that knew about the cheating.

[Stuart]

You may as well do it now, because it will happen. It is highly likely that there are cheats already in the side, or at least those that knew about the cheating.

All true. And every other team in the world is equally culpable (if not quite as bad at it). If we had pitches around the world that provided bowlers with some assistance, such as Adelaide and Perth this year, there would be less incentive to cheat in order to try and prise the batsmen out.

Interesting fact: the ICC uses camera footage from the home country broadcasting organisations to examine for possible ball tampering. And, for some reason that I can’t quite work out, no home country captain has ever been found guilty of ball tampering - only visiting captains. Surely the home country television broadcasters don’t focus more on the visiting players’ actions than the opposition ...

[TheNuclearOne]

Very glad that I am in London until early in the new year and won’t actually watch the MCG pitch debacle unfold yet again. Low and slow, with nothing for the bowlers, but equally, the batsmen can’t score at a decent rate. The run-rate today was 2.4 per over, which is a continuation of what we have seen recently. For comparison to last year, Australia finished day 1 last year at 3-244 (again, run-rate well under 3 per over) and that was after Warner played a blinder with 103 off 151 balls.

The inclusion of Mitch Marsh makes some sort of sense in a way; lets bowl him into the dust and save the four frontline bowlers for Sydney where there may be some assistance.We really need one of our batsmen to pull out an ‘Alistair Cook’ type of performance and just bat without worrying about runs at all. A number of our top-order wickets last year were from ‘drag-ons’ from outside the stumps, so just play straight and don’t try cross-bat shots. I can’t see us bowling India out (at all really) for less than 500, but that will also probably take them well into day 3. At that point, the draw is the only realistic option for us, so they should look to keep India’s bowlers in the field for the remainder of the match if possible.

The MCG has had one of the worst pitches in the world for a long time, and if the Perth pitch was rated as ‘average’, it sounds like this one should be ‘poor’ at best. The curator has had 12 months to improve things, but clearly not a lot has changed in spite of all their rhetoric before the start - would be fascinating to see what would happen if the MCG lost its right to host matches.

My one worry is that India get a bit of reverse going. Cummins had a little bit going here and there. It could potentially test our mob even on a road. From what i saw today Marsh got a rare ball to pop a bit or keep low which was interesting.

[Grumpy8]

I support Australian cricket, not any other country.If we have to stoop so low as to select cheats , then I will withdraw my support for my team.

But are you really supporting Australia if you allow cheats from other countries to continue to cheat and most likely against Australia. Don’t you think it strange that we have the best bowlers but we can’t get reverse swing . In Smith’s infamous interview he said South Africa got reverse after 15 overs and we couldn’t get any . The captain of that team has been caught twice for ball tampering. Do you not think Australia has been playing on an uneven playing field . Surely you cannot demand we don’t cheat but allow others to cheat against us . I don’t condone what they did but I certainly don’t like the witch hunt it turned into and I think the leaders of this should now turn their attention to the other cheats and go after them

[Steve]

We don’t have the best bowlers, that’s why.

[Grumpy8]

We don’t have the best bowlers, that’s why.

Stats and commentary would disagree,

[Steve]

Stats do not support the Australian ex cricketers employed to talk during the telecasts.

[Steve57]

But are you really supporting Australia if you allow cheats from other countries to continue to cheat and most likely against Australia. Don’t you think it strange that we have the best bowlers but we can’t get reverse swing . In Smith’s infamous interview he said South Africa got reverse after 15 overs and we couldn’t get any . The captain of that team has been caught twice for ball tampering. Do you not think Australia has been playing on an uneven playing field . Surely you cannot demand we don’t cheat but allow others to cheat against us . I don’t condone what they did but I certainly don’t like the witch hunt it turned into and I think the leaders of this should now turn their attention to the other cheats and go after them

You can only control what goes on in your own backyard. I don’t want my grandkids growing up knowing it’s ok to cheat. The ACB should have drawn a line in the sand and made a statement to the rest of the world but they took the easy way out.

[Ron Burgundy]

You can only control what goes on in your own backyard. I don’t want my grandkids growing up knowing it’s ok to cheat. The ACB should have drawn a line in the sand and made a statement to the rest of the world but they took the easy way out.

So the ACB was too soft handing out bans of 12 months, 9 months, CEO gone, chairman gone etc when every other cricket board staunchly backed their players and the guilty players previously got a modest fine at worst. Should they have gotten out the firing squad?

[Grumpy8]

Stats do not support the Australian ex cricketers employed to talk during the telecasts.

New ball stats shown yesterday showed them as the best , and as such could support the theory that other countries cheat more by getting reverse swing with the older ball

[Steve]

New ball stats just prove we play more seamers than swing bowlers. Hence why the spinner is on top of the Australian list or is that due to him being able to reverse spin the old ball

[Grumpy8]

You can only control what goes on in your own backyard. I don’t want my grandkids growing up knowing it’s ok to cheat. The ACB should have drawn a line in the sand and made a statement to the rest of the world but they took the easy way out.

ACB could refuse to play games against ball tampering cheats , especially if the morally outraged got on board . Or even the vindictive journalists who started all this because they didn’t like some of our cricketers and couldn’t get interviews/ access on demand could bring pressure on but neither groups will because they have achieved what they wanted .

[Grumpy8]

New ball stats just prove we play more seamers than swing bowlers. Hence why the spinner is on top of the Australian list or is that due to him being able to reverse spin the old ball

Reverse spin , sounds like our bent arm Sri Lanka record holder . I think we have three pace bowlers. I wouldn’t call them seamers , I think we need a seamer /off cutter .

[Steve57]

So the ACB was too soft handing out bans of 12 months, 9 months, CEO gone, chairman gone etc when every other cricket board staunchly backed their players and the guilty players previously got a modest fine at worst. Should they have gotten out the firing squad?

No firing squad but life bans would have sent a message to not only our up and comers but also to the world.There is no room in any sport for cheats!

[Ron Burgundy]

No firing squad but life bans would have sent a message to not only our up and comers but also to the world.There is no room in any sport for cheats!

Should Warnie have gotten a life ban for his doping violation? What about every player who throws the ball back to the keeper so that it bounces first? Them too?

[Steve57]

Should Warnie have gotten a life ban for his doping violation? What about every player who throws the ball back to the keeper so that it bounces first? Them too?

Yes to Warnie but no to the ball throwers.
I defy anyone to be able to land the ball on the same side every time it is thrown into the ground, so that to me is just stupidity, not cheating.

[AndyP]

Definitely yes to the Essendon Football Club.

[Steve57]

Definitely yes to the Essendon Football Club.

Agreed!
And Cronulla.

[Ron Burgundy]

Yes to Warnie but no to the ball throwers.I defy anyone to be able to land the ball on the same side every time it is thrown into the ground, so that to me is just stupidity, not cheating.

They’re still doing it to deliberately alter the ball but I agree it’s a pretty ineffective method. I’m sure Smith, Warner and Bancroft will be pleased to hear cheating is ok as long as it’s done stupidly, because their attempt at it was tremendously stupid.

[Steve57]

They’re still doing it to deliberately alter the ball but I agree it’s a pretty ineffective method. I’m sure Smith, Warner and Bancroft will be pleased to hear cheating is ok as long as it’s done stupidly, because their attempt at it was tremendously stupid.

I think you are confusing the one day game with Test matches, I can’t remember a bounce throw in a test match unless it has been to assist the keeper who may have been looking into the sun. No bowler either fast or slow would want both sides of the ball damaged.