Smith, Warner Banned For a Year, to Also Miss IPL

Four days after television cameras caught Australia cricketer Cameron Bancroft using a sticky sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball on Day Three of the Cape Town Test against South Africa, Cricket Australia has meted out punishment. Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner have been banned for a year for their involvement in the incident while Bancroft, just 25 and with only seven Tests under his belt, is out for nine months. Warner can no longer aspire to captain the side while Smith must wait 12 months after completing the ban to be eligible for the post. Bancroft, if he is to become captain, must also wait 12 months after the completion of his ban to be eligible for such a leadership role.

The action follows a wave of shock and outrage from Australian fans, including the country’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who termed the incident a “disgrace”, as well as the larger cricketing fraternity that was left stunned by what took place at Cape Town.

Meanwhile, Indian Premier League commissioner Rajiv Shukla has said Smith and Warner will not be allowed to take part in the league and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals are free to replace them with other foreign cricketers.

An investigation conducted by Cricket Australia held Warner responsible for the "development of a plan to attempt to artificially alter the condition of the ball", and of giving "instruction to a junior player to carry out a plan". Warner not only advised Bancroft on how to tamper with the ball and demonstrated how it could be done, he was also charged for having misled match officials by concealing his involvement in the plan. Singled out as the architect of the plan, he faces the harshest penalty of the three. ESPNCricinfo has reported that Warner is expected to challenge the verdict and take the matter to a code of conduct hearing.

Smith, the preliminary investigation revealed, had prior knowledge of the plan but did not stop it. He tried to hide what was going on after Bancroft was caught hiding the tape, and went on to make "misleading" comments about the "nature, extent and participants" in the plan.

Bancroft knew about the plan and executed it before attempting to hide the evidence. He then misled the umpires about what he was trying to do and joined Smith in lying about what had taken place.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft cannot play international and first-class cricket for the duration of their respective bans but are permitted to play club cricket so that they can continue "to maintain links with the cricket community". The three will also need to complete 100 hours of voluntary service in community cricket.

As has become the norm, not just in cricket but in the sport at large, the result of these investigations and the punishments meted out impact players alone. Despite Smith’s confirmation that Team Australia’s “leadership group” was involved/aware of the plan, no member of the team management has been held responsible or even attempted to back the players under their charge. In a sporting environment where winning, at any cost, is an attitude drummed into the athletes, it is impossible to conceive that management has no role to play in the ongoing controversy. That larger question, both by Cricket Australia and the ICC, seems to have been brushed under the carpet under the guise of perpetrators being brought to justice.