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IPL 2018: Warner steps down as Hyderabad captain over ball-tampering row
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Ball-tampering row: Steve Smith, David Warner banned for 12 months; updates

Cricket Australia is expected to come out with the results of an investigation into the ball tampering scandal involving Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft today

BS Web Team  |  New Delhi 

David Warner
David Warner of Australia talks to the umpire on the fourth day of the third cricket test between South Africa and Australia at Newlands Stadium, in Cape Town, South Africa, Sunday

David Warner has stepped down as captain of the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad. The twitter handle of SRH tweeted: “In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the Team will be announced shortly. – K Shanmugam, CEO, SunRisers Hyderabad." Cricket Australia is expected to come out with the results of an investigation into the ball tampering scandal involving Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft on Wednesday. As such, the three players will be sent home in the 'next 24 hours', according to the Aussie cricket board chief James Sutherland. He added that the players will be penalised with sanctions that will 'reflect the gravity' of the situation. Tim Paine, a batsman with only 10 test caps, has been appointed the new skipper of the side. Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell will join the team in South Africa to replace the disgraced trio charged with ball tampering. Cricket Australia's preliminary investigation is said to have reached the conclusion that coach Darren Lehman wasn't aware of the plan to tamper with the red cherry and so he will continue to be with the side. According to news daily DNA, Steve Smith and David Warner may be staring at a loss of Rs 200 million each arising from bans against playing for their national side and the cash-rich Indian Premier League. Steve Smith's central contract with CA is worth $1.5 million per annum and Warner's is $800,000. Apart from that, they are paid hefty amounts for each international match they feature in. Meanwhile, former Australia captain Michael Clark seemed to question the board's assertion that only three of the players were in the know of the plans to tamper with the ball prior to the episode. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were involved in ball tampering on the third day of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Here are the top 10 developments in the ball-tampering row:

1) Steve Smith, David Warner banned for 12 months

Steven Smith and David Warner, formerly captain and vice-captain of Australia, have been banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia for their roles in the pre-meditated plan to tamper with the ball on the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa. Cameron Bancroft, the player to actually tamper with the ball, has been banned for nine months.

2) Smith, Warner, Bancroft sent home: Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland announced on Tuesday that Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft will return home and will not play the fourth and final Test match against South Africa that starts on Friday. Coach Darren Lehmann will continue in the position as he had no knowledge according to CA's preliminary inquiry. Matthew Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns have been named their replacements.

4) Steve Smith stepped down as Rajasthan Royals captain: Steve Smith yesterday decided to step down from Rajasthan Royals' captaincy in the wake of the of severe backlash he has faced after admitting to ball tampering during the third Test against South Africa. The decision was on expected lines the moment Cricket Australia indicated that harsher penalty was on cards for Smith and Co for their role in an episode that has shaken Australian sporting fraternity. "The incident in Cape Town has certainly disturbed the cricketing world. We have been in constant touch with the BCCI and taken their counsel. Furthermore, we have been in regular contact with Smith," Rajasthan Royals' head of cricket Zubin Bharucha had said. "It's in the best interest of the Rajasthan Royals that Smith steps down as captain so the team can get ready for the start of the IPL without the ongoing distractions," he had added. 5) Ajinkya Rahane to replace Steve Smith: Right-hand Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane will replace Steve Smith in the upcoming season of the IPL. "Ajinkya Rahane has been an integral part of the Royals family for a long time now and he understands the culture and values of our team. We have absolutely no doubt that he will be a great leader of the Rajasthan Royals," Zubin Bharucha had said. Welcoming Rahane as the captain of the team, Ranjit Barthakur, executive Chairman, Rajasthan Royals, had said: "Ajinkya Rahane has stepped up as a leader whenever he has been given the opportunity, be it for India or at Rajasthan Royals." "We consider him the right candidate to lead the side this crucial season when the team is coming back to the IPL after two years. We wish him all the best, " Barthakur had added. Co-owner Manoj Badale had said: "Rajasthan Royals will do everything possible to protect the values and the integrity of the game. We agree with Steve's decision to step down as captain, and we are fortunate to have such a capable successor with Ajinkya Rahane. It is important that all cricket fans retain a balanced perspective on the situation. "What happened in South Africa was clearly wrong, especially given that it appears to have been pre-meditated. That said, this will be a difficult time for Steve as well, given how much he cares about the game," Manoj Badale, the co-owner of Rajasthan Royals had said. 6) Ashish Nehra sad over Steve Smith ball tampering: Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra yesterday conceded that Steve Smith was wrong in orchestrating ball-tampering but it will be sad if the under-fire Australian captain is barred from participating in IPL 2018. "I know what they did was wrong. But if we think that this is the first time that ball tampering is happening, then that is also wrong. But the best part is they admitted their mistake and ICC has sanctioned them. Obviously, we don't know what Cricket Australia will do but if they don't play, it will be a huge setback for Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. They are quality players and it will be sad if they miss out on IPL," Nehra had said, according to news agency PTI. "You have to give them [Smith and David Warner] credit that they accepted to ball-tampering and stood down from captaincy and vice-captaincy," the left-arm pacer had added. When asked whether bowlers should get some leeway as the reverse swing is a difficult art, he had given an inimitable reply. "Yes, it's an art but then stealing is also an art. Would you put a thief in jail or praise him. Reverse swing is an art but ball tampering is dishonesty. And there are ways to prepare a ball for reverse swing without tampering," Nehra, who is one of India's finest exponents of swing bowling, had said. "Also this is a phenomena, you will find mainly in Test cricket as in T20 and ODIs, it's difficult to reverse the white ball. In ODIs, two new white balls are used, so chances are really less. It's only in Test cricket which is played for a considerable amount of time that teams want their bowlers to try reverse swing." "Now conditions also play a huge role in reverse swing. If conditions are dry and pitch abrasive, the ball will in any case reverse. For example at the Feroz Shah Kotla, even a Ranji team will get the SG Test to reverse within 10 overs," Nehra had explained. 7) Steve Smith stepped down as Australian cricket team's captain: Caught up in the ball-tampering controversy, Steven Smith had stepped down as the Australian cricket team's captain for the remainder of the ongoing third Test against South Africa. The actions of the Australian team's leadership in the ball-tampering controversy would be investigated, Cricket Australia had said. Subsequently, the Australian government had asked the board to remove Smith as captain. Australian Prime Minister Turnbull had called the incident a "shocking disappointment". "It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating," he had said. After he owned up to the ball-tampering conspiracy in South Africa, the ICC had slapped Smith with a one-match suspension and fined his entire match fee. "ICC chief executive David Richardson laid the charge against Smith under to Article 2.2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for players and player support personnel which prohibits 'all types of conduct of a serious nature that is contrary to the spirit of the game'," the ICC had said in a statement. "Smith accepted the charge and the proposed sanction of two suspension points which equates to a ban for the next Test match and which will see four demerit points added to his record," added the statement. ALSO READ: 'Brain fade' Steve Smith: Prolific but flawed Aussie cricket captain 8) David Warner had stepped down: On the back of the ongoing ball-tampering controversy, Smith's deputy David Warner had stepped down as vice-captain. Wicketkeeper Tim Paine acted as captain at Newlands, with both Smith and Warner taking the field on Sunday. "Following discussions with Steve Smith and David Warner, they have agreed to stand down as captain and vice-captain, respectively, for the remainder of this Test match," Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland had said. "This Test match needs to proceed, and in the interim, we will continue to investigate this matter with the urgency that it demands," he had added. ALSO READ: Ball-tampering scandal: Steve Smith handed one match suspension 9) Australian media slams cricket team: Australia's cricketers heaped disgrace and humiliation on the country, the local press had said on Monday in blasting the "rotten" team culture under the current leadership. Cricket is considered the national sport in Australia and the stunning developments have not gone down well. "Smith's Shame," screamed The Australian broadsheet on its front page, in remarks echoed by other media. "The cheating has hurt Australian cricket from helmet to boot," it said in a commentary calling for Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland to stand down. "In charge of the game for nearly two decades, Sutherland has done little to change the rotten culture of the sport at its most senior level." It had added that the scandal had dumped "disgrace and humiliation" on the nation. In the same theme, the newspaper's cricket writer Peter Lalor asked: "Where were the adults in the room? "The answer to the question is, sadly, that these are the adults. Or the nearest thing to them that the game can summon," the newspaper had added. ALSO READ: Ball-tampering row: Steve Smith of 'brain fade' fame now admits to cheating 10) Bancroft fined 75% of his match fee: Australia's Cameron Bancroft has been fined 75 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points for breaching Level 2 of the ICC code of conduct. The ball-tampering controversy erupted after Television footage showed Bancroft rubbing the ball and then seemingly putting an object back in his pocket. The ball-tampering controversy, as it happened: Australia's Cameron Bancroft had been caught on cameras using what is believed to be a tape before attempting to hide the object down the front of his pants, moments before the umpires seemingly inquired about the contents of his pockets on the third day of the Cape Town Test on Saturday. Television footage later showed Bancroft rubbing the ball and then seemingly putting an object back in his pocket. As soon as the incident was shown on the giant screen, the player was questioned in the presence of his captain Steve Smith by the two on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong. The on-field officials along with third umpire Ian Gould and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar later charged Bancroft. The umpires inspected the ball at that time and elected not to replace the ball and award a five-run penalty as they could not see any marks on the ball that suggested that its condition had been changed as a direct result of Bancroft's actions. Smith and Bancroft admitted to the offence after play on the day, and Bancroft was charged by the ICC for altering the condition of the ball. A contrite Smith and Bancroft later addressed a press conference, admitting to ball-tampering and apologised for their actions. However, the uninitiated might ask what is ball tampering in the first place? In cricket, ball tampering refers to an action in which a player illegally alters the condition of the ball. Ball tampering's primary motivation is to interfere with the aerodynamics of the ball.

What is ball tampering?

Ball tampering is the unlawful alteration of the surface or seam of a ball on the field to affect its motion when bowled. Smith on Saturday admitted to masterminding a premeditated plan to indulge in ball-tampering, which, among others, prompted even Australia's prime minister to react and a long-retired captain to mull a comeback. Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called the incident a "shocking disappointment", while Michael Clarke kept open the possibility of returning as the Australia cricket team's captain. On the third day of the Cape Town Test on Saturday, television footage showed Smith's teammate Bancroft, 25, taking a yellow object (sandpaper to scruff up one side of the ball to aid reverse swing) out of his pocket while fielding in the post-lunch session and appearing to rub it on the ball before putting the material into his trousers in an attempt to hide it.
With agency inputs

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Wed, March 28 2018. 13:58 IST

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