By Matt Richens @mattrichens
Opinion - The Australian cricket team's blatant ball-tampering is a case of entitlement and arrogance that beggars belief, writes an angry Matt Richens.
Australia's captain Steve Smith (R), flanked by teammate Cameron Bancroft, speaking as he admitted to ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa. Photo: AFP
Instead of using the sports tape to cheat, maybe the Australian cricket team should have used it bind themselves to the moral high ground they - arguably wrongly - thought they held.
In a massive blow for what's left of the Spirit of the Game, Steve Smith's side have been caught blatantly trying to ball-tamper and cheat in a series with South Africa that is quickly slipping away from them.
It's been a series filled with tension, conflict and controversy, but this takes things to a whole other level.
Unless you grew up eating Vegemite and know what "girt by sea" means, this Australian side are a hard to like bunch anyway, but this… this just takes the pavlova.
Better view @DaleSteyn62 pic.twitter.com/L0wpnp6j9W
— Jerome Damon (@jerome_k_damon) March 24, 2018
The tiniest speck of credit needs to be given to Smith and the man he and his worryingly named "leadership group" used to do their dirty work - Cameron Bancroft.
They've fronted up and apologised, but that goes nowhere near far enough to fixing what they've done; If you break a mirror then apologise to it, it's still broken.
The fact Bancroft is the youngest and most inexperienced member of the Australian team makes the situation worse and says more about the side's leaders than Bancroft.
The sheer sense of entitlement and arrogance beggars belief.
Even if you don't give two Zing bails about the Spirit of the Game, surely you're aware enough to know there are quite a few cameras and they're being operated by staff presumably rooting for the home side.
You would only do this if you didn't think you'd get caught. Which begs the question, how many times have they done it?
Smith swore black and blue this was the first time, but forgive me if his word doesn't fill me with confidence.
Any semblance of righteousness Smith, David Warner and coach Darren Lehmann had over the series' previous controversies has been well and truly blown away.
Quinton de Kock is alleged to have crossed the imaginary line of sledging that for some reason the Australians have self-appointed themselves the guardians of. He was punished, as was Warner when they took their spat into the camera-covering bellies of the stadium.
But the Australians continued to moan about the incident and their treatment, especially that of Warner by the South African team and the public since.
South African quick Kagiso Rabada ran into Smith after dismissing him in the second test. He was charged, but it was later downgraded. Smith jumped on his often-ridden high horse again to question Rabada's act and the punishment. Such a saint.
Australian fielder Cameron Bancroft is questioned by the umpires during the third day of the third Test cricket match between South Africa and Australia. Photo: AFP
How can he questions others' behaviour from some holier-than-thou position which, even before this grim, grim, situation, he and his side were never entitled to hold, then days later commit what in cricket is blatant cheating?
He and his team are cheats and no amount of "sorry"s or "I promise it won't happen again" fixes that.
Smith's admission was an attempt to have all the hype about this over and done with, but the hangover of this act will be long-lasting.
Is this really the first time? Mitchell Starc got the ball swinging all over the place in Durban in the first test; was that legit? Is this something that's been going on for years? Did it help the Saggy Greens win the recent Ashes series? Was Mitchell Johnson just that good against the 2013/2014 Ashes when he made it swing around corners?
Those performances may well have been legit, but questions will be asked now, shadows will be cast.
The Australians were always hard to like. Ever since the late 1990s, they've been hard to beat and set the standard.
Personally, it was jealousy that led me to not liking them - they were very good and they knew it. They were confident bordering on arrogant, but they could be because they were that good.
Now they're just a bunch of entitled bullies who can give it, not take it and are so arrogant they don't think they need to play by the same rules as everyone else.
They attack players on the field then complain when those players react then use their youngest player to do their dirty work and cheat.
What great humans they are.
