I used to love cricket. It is a fascinating sport with so many different nuances. It has the ability to keep fans the world over fully engaged for five whole days. There are not many sports out there with that kind of pull.
In cricket, it is often very difficult to tell whether a batsman has lost his wicket. Only the batsman would know, especially before modern technology. The tiniest nick with his bat touching the ball would technically mean that he was out but the fielding side would unable to tell. In the early days of cricket and until a decade or so ago, a batsman would then acknowledge that he was out by putting his bat under his arm and leaving the field. This could have far-reaching results for his side and even for his career. However, everyone, including his own team, would celebrate his integrity, acknowledging that this is how one plays the game of cricket.
This gave shape to the saying
I say, that's just not cricket!
when someone cheated. (You need to read this saying with a British accent.) Cricket set a high standard of integrity and everyone involved celebrated it. That is until recently.
A number of scandals have rocked the cricketing world over the last two decades. Most of them involved bookmakers. And while the cricketers who cheated were punished, we all saw it as an individual or individuals who succumbed to the wiles of the evil bookmakers and the lure of gold. It just was not how you were expected to play cricket and these individuals were the exception rather than the rule. Cricket, after all, is cricket.
Last week changed all of that for me.
In a test match between South Africa and Australia, an Australian player was caught on camera tampering with the ball.
Ball tampering is a serious offence that would give a team an unfair advantage. A ball is in play for 90 overs. The changing condition of the ball, from new until discarded, is an important factor in the game and determines a big part of a team's strategy. The one side of the ball is kept shiny and smooth. The other side is kept as scuffed as possible. This determines how much a ball will swing through the air when bowled at speeds in excess of 130km/h. Tampering with it illegally, well, it's just not cricket!
Players have been caught doing this before last week. And the penalties and fines are well established. But this time was worse!
Upon investigation, it was discovered that the captain and vice-captain were in on the plan. Actually, they initiated the plan to tamper with the ball and asked or told a junior player to do it. It was a team effort!
Everyone else in the team, including the coach, denies any knowledge of the tampering. The South African team have shiny halos over their heads and have never sought an unfair advantage. Ever.
Who is going to believe them?
Not me.
It is just not cricket. Anymore.
What do you think? Where do you see shining beacons of integrity in your world? Or is it just not that important?
