Ball-Tampering Is An International Problem: Justin Langer
Australia head coach Justin Langer, on Thursday, said that ball tampering is more of an “international” problem. The former opener also said that the ball-tampering could be wiped out of the game only by ensuring a fair competition between bat and ball.
That ball-tampering is not a rare phenomenon in the game is well known. But perhaps no team has suffered as much as Australia is suffering due to it at present. The ball-tampering scandal during the third Test against South Africa in March this year has absolutely shocked Australian cricket.
Bancroft was caught by cameras applying sandpaper to the ball to change its condition. And the repercussions soon followed
The scandal had resulted in the resignation of head coach Darren Lehmann. Cricket Australia then slapped lengthy bans on Steven Smith (12 months), David Warner (12 months) and Cameron Bancroft (9 months).
And Justin Langer, who replaced Lehmann, said that while carrying the sandpaper on the field was wrong, he insisted that ball-tampering is prevalent worldwide in the sport.
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“In terms of the specific with what happened with the ball, my honest view is, it’s an international problem,” Langer told Adam Gilchrist in an interview for Fox Cricket. “I can’t for a single second understand how we took sandpaper out on to the field, that doesn’t make any sense to me. What I do know is that the issue with people ball-tampering is something that’s going on internationally.”
He further said that making right pitches is paramount to ensure fair competition which can thereby curb the issue.
“We’ve got to get the pitches right around the world so that the ball does move, whether it spins or swings,” he said.
“It’s a real worry. The way I think about this is, remember when you’re a little kid and you played backyard cricket with your brother and you put the tape on one side of the ball because it had to swing, because if you don’t get ball to swing, you can’t get your brother out and it’s a pretty boring game,” he added.
Earlier this week, Australia made public a review of their cricketing culture in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal. The Longstaff review found Cricket Australia “arrogant” and “controlling”. It also held the board at fault for enacting a program that led to a winning-at-all-costs culture.
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