Michael Vaughan labels ‘Players’ Pact’ as ‘cringeworthy’ and ‘a load of bull****’

FORMER England captain and Ashes winner Michael Vaughan has lambasted Australia’s new Players’ Pact, describing it as a “cringeworthy” and “a load of b...”

Michael Vaughan doesn’t think much of the Players’ Pact.

FORMER England captain and Ashes winner Michael Vaughan has lambasted Australia’s new Players’ Pact, describing it as a “cringeworthy” and “a load of B (sic).”

Test captain Tim Paine and Josh Hazlewood presented the team’sPlayers’ Pact, which came out of the Rick McCosker-led players’ review into the culture of the Australian team, on Monday.

After five months of interviews and introspection, Paine revealed the new players’ charter which called on Australian cricketers to make the country “proud” and for fans to “compete,” “smile,” “fight” and “dream” with the team.

Watching on from England, Vaughan did not think much of it.

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The Aussie cultural review is cringeworthy ... ‘Smile with us , Dream with us ‘ !!!!!! What a load of B ......... !! Just play good,hard,fair cricket & win a few games is all that’s required ... !!

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 29, 2018

Vaughan also opined the bans handed to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal should be softened in the wake of the Ethics Centres’s Review of the organistational culture of Cricket Australia.

The Longstaff Review painted neither Australia’s players nor CA in a positive light, with the governing body described as “arrogant” and “dictatorial” and fostering a culture of “winning without counting the costs.” It makes it clear that mentality had a key role to play in March’s ugly events.

“The ball-tampering incident at the Newlands Ground in South Africa can be seen as an aberration. It can be dismissed as the failure of a handful of players,” it states. “However, to think this would be mistaken ... we have seen evidence that the structures built around elite cricket are oriented to winning, without properly counting the costs ... winning is pursued as a perfectly legitimate objective without counting the cost.”

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Revealing in many ways .. but most Sports teams live in an ‘gilded bubble’ !! I Personally think the players Bans Should be reduced now CA have shared the blame .. thought the punishment was too harsh at the time anyway .. https://t.co/gU258tBTjb

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 29, 2018

Vaughan is not alone in that opinion, with the Australian Cricketers’ Association and former coach Darren Lehmann both calling for the bans to be reviewed.

“I think they should be back but it’s up to the board to make that decision, not me. I think the general feeling around Australia, certainly the people I talk to, is they want them playing again, at worst domestic cricket,” Lehmann was quoted by Fairfax. “Now the findings have come down they should be reviewing the sanctions on the three players.”

“The ACA submission to the Longstaff Review reasoned the events in South Africa were in part a by-product of a culture and system which, amongst other things, placed too much pressure on players to win,” ACA president Greg Dyer said.

“The findings of the Longstaff Report affirm this. This is extremely significant, as there is now independent verification that the system and culture were contributing factors.

“Given this, there must be a reconsideration of the harshness of the penalties handed down to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.

“Basic fairness demands these independently verified contributing factors must now be taken into consideration and the penalties reduced.”

Originally published as Michael Vaughan labels ‘Players’ Pact’ as ‘cringeworthy’ and ‘a load of bull****’