invisibleman18 wrote:
Smith was inconsolable in his press conference last night and rightly so. No surprise Warner is the one who hasn't fronted up in public yet and just hid behind a Twitter statement. The amount he cried on this tour when someone dared say something back to him showed him up for what he is.
The outrage over the incident is way over the top in my opinion. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Faf Du Plessis and a number of other players have been fined/ banned for trying to illegally alter the behavior of the ball, the act being different - mint, lozenge, nails....... Social Media either wasn't around then, or didn't have the voice it has now. They used 10 cameras then, now use 36. The players didn't fix a game to lose they tried too hard to win. For the Aussie PM to release a statement and all sports writers to feel so offended and create an uproar was a bit too much. I have known Smith for 4 years. He is an incredible cricketer but almost a boy at heart. His honesty hurt him in the end. They could have appealed guilty without acknowledging the premeditation behind it. For him, one of the best batsmen of this generation to be made a public enemy like this when a lot more has happened in cricket in the past was saddening.Â
No sympathy for Australia though. They need a change in culture. They talk a good game but can't take it back. They wilted under SA's refusal to back down in altercations and give it back with as much ferocity.
