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Comparing the well used tactic of ball tampering to match fixing is ridiculous.
Nonsense. Comparing the well used tactic of ball tampering to the well used strategy of match fixing is perfectly sensible. It's cheating. Equating them may be of less use. Of more use might be adding the comparison of bowling a few materially inconsequential no-balls. There's a sliding scale of cheating cuntishness - the fact that Smith et al weren't betting on themselves seems to encourage some people to give them a free pass.
kl-
No, they are completely different. Like comparing a "sticky bidon" to systematic doping. Both are forms of cheating but hardly comparable.
They cheated and got caught.
Should they be shot?
Should Faf?
Should Athers have been?
Should Martin Crowe?
Shahid?
Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis?Fuck dude, get over it.
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Geoff Lemon has a really good bit in his book* that talks about how long it was going on.
‘17 Ashes:
“Bouncers did over a third of the damage. Of the 89 Eng wickets, 30 fell to short balls, 21 to Lyon, 18 to nicks or pads with a new ball and only 16 to fuller deliveries with an older ball. There was a hint of reverse when Hazlewood trapped vince at the MCG inside 25 overs...”
He suggests it started in the SA tour. And that given the early reverse swing, both teams might have been at it.
*Steve Smith’s Men. Best cricket book I’ve read.
campervangogh
BRM
Sydney Morning Herald and Stuff are owned by the same company, and often regurgitate stories across both platforms.
I don't condone the actions of the Australian cricket team, but they were caught, punished and publicly humiliated. It may have been practised long term, but without actual evidence it is just supposition.
Comparing the well used tactic of ball tampering to match fixing is ridiculous. Arrogance and competitiveness don't equate fraud.
All sportspeople go through peaks and troughs in their careers, and can be blamed upon other external factors such as physical or mental stress, which is to be expected at the highest levels of sport.