Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie said that Steve Smith tenure as the full-time captain for Australia team is up, given his central role in a ball-tampering scandal.
Gillespie also admitted that this incident has “torched” the reputation of the team and stunned world cricket.
But he said he would be “amazed” if Australia coach Darren Lehmann, a former team-mate o him had been involved.
However, Smith insisted that Lehmann had no prior knowledge of the cheating.
“Steve Smith’s time as Australia’s captain is surely up.
“It is impossible to envisage a scenario where he stays in the job. This is a train wreck. This was pre-planned cheating. The reputation of a team who were already drawing scorn for their behavior has been torched,” Gillespie said to the Guardian.
However, later Smith said the team’s “leadership group” had a plan, carried out by Cameron Bancroft, to tamper with the ball to “get an advantage.”
ICC gave a one-match ban to Smith following his admission that he was a party to a decision to alter the ball’s condition while Cameron Bancroft avoided it but got three demerit points.
However, Tim Paine led the team on the fourth day, as the Aussies went 2-1 down after a batting collapse. The host banked on Morne Morkel’s nine-wicket haul in the match, as Australia collapsed from 57 without loss to 107 all out.
Gillespie, who played 71 Tests for the Aussies exposed Australian cricketers hypocrisy.
“The brutal reality is that this team are seen as arrogant and all too quick to dictate ‘the line’ to others. It was not so long ago that Warner was ripping into (South Africa captain) Faf du Plessis for ball-tampering in 2016, saying Australia would never do the same. The events over the weekend have exposed this as rank hypocrisy,” he added.
Further, here is the newsfeed:
Chris Gayle performs Champion Dance with Afghanistan Players, Again
Mohammed Shami not injured in road accident- Dehradun Police
Australia collapse hands South Africa a clinical win
Ian Healy and Cameron Williams slap scathing comments on Steve Smith & Co
