It’s a dark day for World cricket as senior players of Australian Test cricket Team were caught cheating against the hosts on the third day of the third Test in New Lands Stadium at Cape Town. On Saturday, Australian Captain Steve Smith and his teammate Cameron Bancroft were mocked at by former cricketers and cricket fans on social media for illegally tampering the ball against the Proteas.
Coach Lehman spotted on TV & commun through walkietalkie to sub Handscomb who was sitting downstairs in the dugout
He then ran on the field bet overs to tell Bancroft that he's been caught on camera,after which Cameron Bancroft tried to put that object inside his trouser#SAvAUS pic.twitter.com/ugiIL7YcME
— Immanuel (@m_immanuel) March 24, 2018
In a recent Press conference, Smith and Bancroft confessed about their illegal practice along with revealing their ball tampering plan and also confirmed his desire of not stepping down from the captaincy.
Australia team post play press conference featuring Steve Smith & Cameron Bancroft. https://t.co/dh5UYfPz31
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 24, 2018
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Smith said, “I won’t be considering stepping down. I still think I’m the right person for the job.” Further, he also said that the leadership group knew about the ball-tampering plan but he has decided to not to reveal their names.
Regretting over his deeds, the skipper said, “Today was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group’s behalf as well.”
“I take responsibility as the captain. I need to take control of the ship,” the 28-year-old cricketer admitted.
Moreover. he said, “I’m incredibly sorry for trying to bring the game into disrepute the way we did.”
After this incident, Smith intends to learn from his mistakes and try to make a comeback in the game, he said, “This is certainly something I’m not proud of and something that I can hope to learn from and come back strong from.”
While Opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was the one who executed the plan of tampering the ball. The 25-year-old cricketer was caught with a yellow tape by the on-field umpire and was charged with ball tampering by match referee Andy Pycroft.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday in South Africa @cbancroft4 ✌? pic.twitter.com/CTVBxB3ajF
— Simon Harmer (@SimonHarmerRSA) March 24, 2018
Now the young cricketer is on the verge of facing a one-Test suspension with his cricketing career in trouble.
On this event, Australian Cricketers Association released a statement, “It is right for match officials and Cricket Australia to investigate the full extent of what has transpired. Cricket is a sport synonymous with the highest standards of behaviour,”
Meanwhile, South Africa stands strong at 5-238 at stumps in their second innings with a lead of 294 runs.
Here is the squad for the third test:
South Africa squad: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen, Quinton de Kock, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Olivier, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, AB de Villiers.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine, Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, Mitchell Starc.
