The Australian Government has asked Cricket Australia to come down hard on all players who were involved in the ‘SandpaperGate’ at Newlands yesterday, specifically asking for Steve Smith to be removed from his captaincy as it was the ‘leadership group’ that masterminded the ball tampering incident.
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Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull has expressed his concern over the incident, labelling it as a ‘shocking disappointment’.
Also Read: Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft admit to ball tampering
The Australian Sports Commission and the ASC board has called for severe action against all players involved.
“The ASC condemns cheating of any form in sport,” the statement read.
“The ASC expects and requires that Australian teams and athletes demonstrate unimpeachable integrity in representing our country.
“Given the admission by Australian captain Steve Smith, the ASC calls for him to be stood down immediately by Cricket Australia, along with any other members of the team leadership group or coaching staff who had prior awareness of, or involvement in, the plan to tamper with the ball. This can occur while Cricket Australia completes a full investigation,” they added.
Cricket Australia, James Sutherland has confirmed that the board will investigate the matter and take appropriate action against all the wrongdoers.
Sutherland confirmed that Steve Smith would continue as the captain of the Australian Team for the time being and that he could no offer no further insight until the travelling party of Iain Roy(Head of Integrity) and Pat Howard(Team Performance Manager) begin their investigation into the matter.
Steve Smith has refused to step down as captain despite accepting the fact that he was involved in the horrendous ball tampering incident.
Cricket Australia will need to set a precedent here by taking strict actions against all players involved, or it could risk losing face in world cricket.
