Ian Chappell says ball tampering scandal evidence of flawed system

I’M not sure what is more damning for the Australian cricket team, the act of attempting to cheat by tampering with the ball, or the stupidity of thinking you could get away with it.

• SHOCK ADMISSION: Smith admits to cheating

• COMMENT: ‘Grubby win-at-all-costs culture’ exposed

• NUTS AND BOLTS: How Aussies hatched a plan to cheat

• EXPERTS REACT: Tell me this is a bad dream

• CRICKET AUSTRALIA: We must follow process first

• READERS VERDICT: Public call for Smith’s head

I’M not sure what is more damning for the Australian cricket team, the act of attempting to cheat by tampering with the ball, or the stupidity of thinking you could get away with it.

Not surprisingly, Cricket Australia has deferred any major decision on the future of the people involved.

Captain Steve Smith was quick to state that it was the “leadership group” who hatched the plot to cheat. And Cameron Bancroft admitted to “volunteering” to do the dirty deed.

That immediately prompts two responses.

If indeed it was a leadership group decision then it’s hard to sack Smith mid-series because there’s no obvious captaincy replacement if all the senior players were involved.

For now Smith and Dave Warner have just been stood down with Tim Paine roped in, but the big question is what happens for the fourth Test starting on Friday.

Then there’s the question of why Bancroft got involved?

Steve Smith shouldn’t be the only one facing sanctions over the ball tampering scandal, writes Ian Chappell.

Both responses shine the spotlight on a system that was doomed to fail.

A system where the players and coaches are constantly stuck in the same bubble can only lead to everyone agreeing with one another, rather than someone speaking out and saying; “This is not acceptable. We can’t do this.”

Any system that includes the captain and coach in the selection process is bound to encourage backside kissing.

If Bancroft, an eight Test newcomer who, at 25, has been clinging to his opening batsman spot by his fingernails, did indeed volunteer for the task, then he probably felt it would help ingratiate himself with the hierarchy.

LISTEN! A special ball tampering crisis Cricket Unfiltered episode is out with News Corp’s Russell Gould and Andrew Menczel dissecting the fallout of the Australian cheating scandal.

You can download Cricket Unfiltered from the iTunes store

If this is the case it’s an indictment on a flawed system.

It’s also hard to believe the “coaches weren’t involved” when you witness Darren Lehmann trying to hide the fact that he was on the walkie-talkie delivering a message to 12th man Peter Handscomb.

Especially when Handscomb then relays a message to Bancroft on the field who then proceeds to try and hide the evidence down his trousers before he is interrogated by the umpires.

There are many aspects to this cheating, the worst of crimes in the eyes of most players and fans.

Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft faced the media after the ball tampering was discovered.

Why did the leadership group believe, with such a strong bowling attack, they needed to cheat? Was it entitlement?

Why did the captain allow a young player to take the fall for such a serious crime?

What role are the coaches playing if this sort of behaviour occurs?

And where does CA’s responsibility lie as the people who oversee these appointments?

“It won’t happen again under my leadership,” a sheepish-looking Smith said in the press conference afterwards.

He could well be right — he may not have the opportunity to make the same mistake again.

Nevertheless, he shouldn’t be the sole scapegoat for a dark day in Australian cricket.

Originally published as Ian Chappell says ball tampering scandal evidence of flawed system