Humor Serious cricket problem.

[Notebook]

I've no idea why, but the BBC is leading its evening news program with some dodgy activity by the Australia Cricket Team.

Normally I have a fairly cynical attitude to sport and sportsfolk, especially if any money is involved.

Bizarre, this has knocked all other international news off the program, straight into domestic politics now.

Weird, N.

 

[Urwumpe]

How can you show cricket in television? It would make more sense as streaming service... "Watch the first 48 hours of this match and get a wicket for free...."

 

[tl8]

This is big news here.

Honestly I am still shocked and disappointed.

This is the most important thing in Australia at the moment.

Although the reason the BBC is covering it is because if they didn't they would have to report on the dismal 58 the English cricket team made against NZ.

The caption is likely gone. The main question to answer is who will join them.
While the ICC bans are quite light, the Cricket Australia bans probably won't be.

 

[Andy44]

I once had a serious cricket problem.

The little bugger was inside the bedroom wall and would randomly chirp every few minutes, keeping me up all night.

I took the switch and outlet plates off the walls and sprayed copious amounts of insecticide into them, but the little guy was dug in deep somewhere. Final solution was to move out of that apartment.

I know it's not the actual topic, but it's the best I can do. I'll get my coat...

 

[Notebook]

Normally listen to the BBC World Service if I can't get to sleep, its the best soporific on FM.
Occasionally their sports folk get agitated, and they did a few days ago(see tl8 above). Seems they were losing badly, could have been the worst score since the last one etc.

I let it go, but its come back with a vengeance.

Oh dear, sorry that was NZ not AUS. Completely different country, though not far apart geographically.

 

[ADSWNJ]

Wow! Shocking disrespect for the sport and for the opponents. They let the country down, big time. I hope Cricket Australia comes down hard on any players that were involved in that shenanigans.

 

[Andy44]

I am confusion...

I can't tell what is being discussed here. So here is a link:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/25/sport/cricket-australia-ball-tampering-intl/index.html

Seems like an awful lot of melodrama over simple sports cheating, but what do I know? In baseball this sort of thing is a long tradition, a cat and mouse game between the players and the officials.

 

[ADSWNJ]

I am confusion...

I can't tell what is being discussed here. So here is a link:

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/25/sport/cricket-australia-ball-tampering-intl/index.html

Seems like an awful lot of melodrama over simple sports cheating, but what do I know? In baseball this sort of thing is a long tradition, a cat and mouse game between the players and the officials.

Ball tampering is about the worst crime in cricket. Two things that make this harder to understand from a US perspective (IMHO)

* National sports are a much higher & more important level to club sports for much of the world. (One of the big surprises I found when coming from the UK to the US was how much this *is not* true here.)

* Cricket is a game for gentlemen! I.e. cheating is cricket is ... well ... it;s just not cricket! (Literal British idiom for ... it's the lowest thing you can do.)

Think Tom Brady tampering with (American) footballs, only now at the Superbowl, and being caught red-handed mid-game by multiple camera, and then being forced to resign the captaincy... and you get to 50% of the shock.

Will let others explain more, but I can see why this is a big scandal in Oz.

 

[boogabooga]

I'm with Andy here. To an American, after finding out that basically an entire generation of pro athletes was on 'roids, this seems like small potatoes. Bat corking was also all the rage a while back. We got through it.

Think Tom Brady tampering with (American) footballs, only now at the Superbowl, and being caught red-handed mid-game by multiple camera, and then being forced to resign in disgrace... and you get to 50% of the shock.

That...kind of happened. (Suspension, but not resigning. As if that would ever happen :lol

It wasn't really THAT big of a deal and is basically forgotten now.

 

[Andy44]

I'm with Andy here. To an American, after finding out that basically an entire generation of pro athletes was on 'roids, this seems like small potatoes. Bat corking was also all the rage a while back. We got through it.

Bat-corking, spitballs, sandpaper hidden in the pitcher's uniform, steroids, and of course the infamous pine tar incident of 1983.

Add to that betting (Pete Rose) and game-throwing (The Black Sox Scandal of 1919), all of which is part of the "colorful" history of baseball.

 

[Linguofreak]

Think Tom Brady tampering with (American) footballs, only now at the Superbowl, and being caught red-handed mid-game by multiple camera, and then being forced to resign the captaincy... and you get to 50% of the shock.

And think football being seen as, at least in its glory days, a sport of the independently wealthy, and American culture being glamorizing the working class a lot less, and tolerating rich elites a lot more, than it actually does.

 

[boogabooga]

And think football being seen as, at least in its glory days, a sport of the independently wealthy, and American culture being glamorizing the working class a lot less, and tolerating rich elites a lot more, than it actually does.

So Americans do not have the classist mindset that the wealthy are above such things? Imagine that.

 

[tl8]

Wow! Shocking disrespect for the sport and for the opponents. They let the country down, big time. I hope Cricket Australia comes down hard on any players that were involved in that shenanigans.

CEO is heading over now. We should have some answers by Wednesday.

And yes, in the whole scheme of things, the actual cheating was minor. Ball tampering is normally wholly ineffective and the ICC penalties reflect that.

The reason this is resonating is for 2 reasons. You only hear this out of the Sub-Continent. England, Australia and New Zealand would never cheat. It goes against the spirit of the game.

But the bigger thing is that Australia is a sporting nation. Winter is Football (any code), Summer is Cricket. Bathurst 1000 is in October. Everyone knows the Australian Cricket Captain. His is arguably the top person in Australia. Even more senior in the Australian psyche than the Prime Minister. His actions have sullied the country and that just isn't right.

The team will recover and so will Australia. Smith will probably never be forgiven.

On the bright side we now have a whole other line of sledging and jokes that are on point (Someone brought some sandpaper to sign ).

Also Notebook, bad luck, looks like you have lost 10 of your last 12 away tests.

 

[Notebook]

Well, we don't expect much of our national teams. Taking part is more important than winning, so I'm told....

As I watch, there's an expert on the telly explaining how ball-tampering is done. Its just not Cricket!

Captain Smith is getting a right slagging from expert "should never play again" and so on.



N.

 

[tl8]

Well, we don't expect much of our national teams. Taking part is more important than winning, so I'm told....

As I watch, there's an expert on the telly explaining how ball-tampering is done. Its just not Cricket!

Captain Smith is getting a right slagging from expert "should never play again" and so on.

N.

Comm games very soon, unlikely to change anytime soon for you.

He will play again, probably at the end of the year. I mean it is not like he match fixed...

 

[Urwumpe]

So Americans do not have the classist mindset that the wealthy are above such things? Imagine that.

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self."

 

[tl8]

Another good write up of why: http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22916100/why-australia-outraged-steven-smith-team

 

[Screamer7]

I'm a big cricket fan. What happened here was not good for the game. Hopefully, they learned a lesson from this. Cheating is not in the spirit of cricket.

Here is some more info on this developing story.

https://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/P...se-for-smith-after-horrible-24-hours-20180325

 

[tl8]

It appears that only 3 players are involved.
The 2 senior players (Captain and Vice Captain) have 12 month bans (although some club cricket teams have now got 2 internationals playing) and the person that did the crime got 9 months. The former 2 also won't be playing IPL. That is a major fiscal loss for them ($2 million each)

The VC won't ever be a leader again. The others have some bans on that as well, but it won't be for a while.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-28/steve-smith-david-warner-banned-playing-australia/9598648

Coach probably not involved, but is going to be under pressure.
"I want to say that he [Lehmann] sent a message to say, 'what in the hell is going on'. He didn't say that, [he] used another word."

 

[Notebook]

Serious repercussions by the look of it. If I was a conspiracy type, I'd say it was set up to distract from the UK/NZ episode...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/43603087

Lachyromse days.

N.