Ball tampering saga: Moises Henriques sheds light on ‘selfless’ act

AN AUSSIE star has highlighted a “selfless” angle to the ball tampering saga which may have critics rethinking their words.

Australian cricketer David Warner pictured at a press conference held at Cricket NSW in Sydney following his return from the South African tests ball tampering saga.Picture: Richard Dobson

BELIEVE it or not, it’s barely been a fortnight since Australian cricket took its darkest turn in South Africa with a shocking ball tampering controversy tarnishing the reputation of the baggy green.

Steve Smith and David Warner are serving hefty bans alongside Cameron Bancroft after Cricket Australia dropped the sword on their contracts following a tidal wave of public backlash.

The international scandal saw the trio dragged through the mud as calls of a complete overhaul in Australian team culture rained down on administrators. Every man and their dog appeared to have an opinion on what should be done in the wake of the mess.

If the saga proved anything, it’s that the Australian public values pride and honesty from its national side over their success on the field.

While the conspiracy to unfairly thwart the game will stain the careers of the tamper trio for the rest of their playing days, NSW star and former Test all-rounder Moises Henriques claims there was another titbit inside the Cape Town crisis which wasn’t taken into consideration.

Cameron Bancroft was caught with his pants down.

Moises Henriques said exactly who in the side tampered with the ball played a big role.

Despite making it crystal clear he didn’t condone ball tampering, Henriques suggested Warner and Bancroft’s crimes were less selfish than they had been characterised as.

“I’m not condoning ball tampering at any stage but I’m just saying this to hold a slightly different perspective,” Henriques told veteran sports journalist Gerard Whateley on SEN Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s not okay to cheat or ball tamper, but to realise that David doesn’t ball tamper so he scores more runs, he doesn’t do it for his own personal statistical gain, or whatever it was, and Bancroft is the same.

“It’s the batters that are all involved here and they’re not cheating for themselves and they’re not breaking their rules for their own personal statistical gain so they can average 50 instead of 40 or whatever it might be.”

Henriques suggested that the damning act of tampering with the ball coming from the team’s opening batsmen and not the seamers who would benefit most was grounds to soften the criticism on Warner and Bancroft.

Dave Warner was the player’s most vocal voice during MOU negotiations, copping it from many. Now, ‘caught ball tampering’ trying to selflessly advantage the fast bowling unit - not for his own stats or personal gain. Rightly punished... but he’s a team man.

— Moises Henriques (@Mozzie21) April 10, 2018

My perspective is that there are people who break the rules for personal gain eg. Match fixing for personal financial gain, performance enhancing drugs.... or people who break the rules so others in their team can gain advantage. I’d sooner forgive the latter.

— Moises Henriques (@Mozzie21) April 10, 2018

At the end of the day, it’s not my place to pass judgements. They’ve been punished and judged enough. However I felt as a mate the least I could do is bring to light a slightly more empathetic perspective to their situation. Of course there is bias and I don’t apologise for it.

— Moises Henriques (@Mozzie21) April 11, 2018

“They’re doing it for the bowlers,” he said. “They did the wrong thing but they’re trying to do it so the team wins. They’re not fixing a match where they’re purposely losing the game for their own financial gain or anything like that.

“I think there is a bit of grey area in terms of the character of these people. They’ve broken the rules, been punished, and so they should be.

“Some of the comments about their character are a little bit out of line.”

Warner already had the tour from hell, before he made it worse.

Steve Smith’s press conference was tough to watch.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft won back some favour on their path to redemption last week by announcing they wouldn’t be appealing their bans, hosing down predictions of a lengthy court saga with Cricket Australia stealing headlines throughout the coming months.

Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell says while the Australian public will never forget the shattering revelation in Cape Town, the trio will be able to restore themselves as mainstays on the international roster after their time is served.

“I think the time that will probably be able to heal some of the mistakes that have been made will be probably be the biggest key,” Maxwell said on SEN.

“The fact that we’ve got IPL now, a 6-7 week break to Cricket Australia’s next commitment I think will actually help the whole group going forward, just allow the group to breathe for a second.

“Hopefully that will bring us a fresh start, and obviously the new coach will have a bit of time to settle into the job.

“Once that England ODI series gets underway we’re able to start with a fresh, happy outlook on the game, and probably not have those scars of South Africa still sitting real close to the front of our minds.”