Australia Are Not as Bad as Portrayed by Media - Darren Lehmann

Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann insisted his players followed the spirit of the game during his tenure with the side and admitted that media didn’t show the complete picture in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal which surfaced at Cape Town in South Africa.

Meanwhile, Lehmann and his players came under heavy criticism since the scandal broke out. As a result, Cricket Australia (CA) suspended three cricketers; Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft.

However, Lehmann himself stepped down from the role amidst heavy speculations all around the cricketing fraternity.

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Lehmann, known for backing his players admitted that they played fair cricket. He also noted that banter during his days was much worse than these days.

“When I played, there was a lot worse sledging going on in those days and years before. You want to promote the game fairly and play hard but fair on the field,” Lehmann told Macquarie Sports Radio.

Lehmann also mentioned that ICC dealt a few untoward incidents during his time with his national. He also stressed that Australian cricketers are not as bad as they are shown in the media.

“There was a lot of talk about the Australian team being over-aggressive and there were some incidents in some games that they probably pushed it too far. They got dealt with accordingly from the ICC and match referee when they crossed that line but the Australians play that way, in essence, a lot of the time. They’re not as bad as portrayed in the media,” he added.

Australia will do good without Smith and Warner: Darren Lehmann

Despite admitting Smith and Warner will be a big loss, Darren Lehmann stressed that Australia have enough talent to fulfil their absence.

Australia will miss the disgraced trio during the home series against Sri Lanka and India this summer.