Smith's Crew in SA

[crashlander]

Evidence of collusion?    Wangling things to get Rabada's ban overturned.  Not cheating but clearly part of "do anything to win" mentality.

Apparently using sugar-laced saliva for "minor ball polishing" is different to scuffing the ball with sandpaper.

I'll call it what it was Faf....it was blatant cheating.

I cannot call us 'pure': we have been found guilty of cheating. However, we are not the only team with a 'win at all costs' mentality. The West Indies in their heyday were not known for their sportsmanship. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Arjuna Ranatunga, when captain of Sri Lanka, was so corrupt that it wasn't funny. It is his fault that runners are no longer used in test cricket. He would claim to be injured when his only problem was an excess of good Sri Lankan curry. His excesses on the field and his incredible lack of sportsmanship were legendary. India under their present leadership do not stretch boundaries: they shatter them. They will do anything to win. Then we have South Africa. Faf de Plessis has been sanctioned for ball tampering. Nor has he been alone.

World cricket has been more than infected by the 'win at all costs' mentality. It has been so for a long time. Australia may have pushed things, but we are not alone. But we are the only ones to react so savagely to those who have been caught.
In some ways I am glad of that. It shows that there is something in Australian cricket still has something behind it other than just 'win'.

I am not against winning: quite the contrary. I love winning and I have experienced relatively little in recent times. But there are boundaries. Am I part of an extinct generation? I hope not.

I don't know if cricket will take the lesson here to heart, even if Cricket Australia does. I will look on with hope, but with very low expectations.