In case you didn’t know..

Following public confessions of attempting to alter the condition of the ball by Smith and Cameron Bancroft, the first sanction arrived from the ICC in this regard, which ruled Smith out of the fourth Test at Johannesburg and docked his entire match fee. But Bancroft escaped with a 75% fine and three demerit points after being caught on camera trying to use sandpaper on one side of the ball, something which was informed to him by the 12th man Peter Handscomb, who had had discussions with coach Darren Lehmann over walkie-talkie when footage of Bancroft’s offence was shown on the giant screen at Cape Town.

The heart of the matter

Yesterday, it was the turn of the CA CEO James Sutherland to announce their own punishments – including one for David Warner, who remains a part of the “leadership group” for Australia – with all three of Smith, Warner and Bancroft being sent back home while Lehmann was let off as Tim Paine was made Australia’s Test captain.

Even before any word from Sutherland, Australia had flown in Matt Renshaw as a replacement, with Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell joining him in the squad as well. However, harsher outcomes for the trio are awaited, with CA to decide on the same today.

What’s next?

The final Test of Australia’s tour to South Africa begins on March 30 while the 11th season of the IPL starts on April 7. Smith, now sacked as Australia’s captain, was also chosen to lead his franchise Rajasthan Royals, who, ironically, were making a return to the tournament after two years for their own involvement in illegal activities. They have now replaced Smith as captain with Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side.

Author’s Take

It is fair on part of the BCCI to disallow the participation of Smith and Warner from the IPL if CA bans them from all forms of cricket, which seems likely, with the probable period being said to be of a year. And with ball tampering being such a severe issue, it would require a huge amount of time before their reputation – and the reputation of Australian cricket – is restored.

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