ZCZC
BSP-22
MCC-ENG-AUS-PONTING
Ponting says Australia ball-tampering bans ‘shocked’ world cricket
LONDON, Aug 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Ricky Ponting believes the lengthy bans
given to former Australia captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron
Bancroft for their roles in March’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa
have been a beneficial “shock” to world cricket.
Smith and his deputy Warner were given 12-month bans by Cricket Australia,
with batsman Bancroft — the man who sandpapered the ball in a bid to aid
reverse-swing during a Test match in Cape Town — was given a nine-month
suspension.
The issue was discussed during a two-day meeting at Lord’s concluded
Tuesday of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) World Cricket Committee — of
which Australia great Ponting is a member.
The committee, an advisory group whose chairman is former England captain
Mike Gatting, has no power to implement decisions but makes suggestions to
the International Cricket Council.
“As a group we were talking about the stance Cricket Australia took and how
harsh that stance might have seemed to ban players for 12 months and nine
months respectively,” Ponting told a press conference at Lord’s on Tuesday.
“It’s probably got the desired outcome, a kind of shock to world cricket.
“We have seen ball-tampering incidents happen probably more consistently
over the last five or six years and to my mind it’s because little things
have crept in that were allowed to get to a certain point and the tipping
point was a pre-meditated act that the Australian players took part in South
Africa.
“So I think we are all very supportive of the ICC stance to penalise anyone
who steps out of line a lot more harshly than in the past.”
– ‘Fair’ pitches –
Ponting suggested pitches that were fair to both batsmen and bowlers, such
as the one at Edgbaston last week which led, in his words, to a “fantastic
Test match” where England beat India by 31 runs, would eradicate potential
problems.
“If you batted well enough you could make runs and if you bowled well
enough you could take wickets — that’s because the ball did something
through the course of the game.
“I think the reason reverse-swing has become such a big issue in the past
10 years is that the wickets have got flatter and flatter and there’s nothing
in it for the bowlers and they have been trying to find a way to keep
themselves in the contest.
“So let’s look at having a fair playing surface for everybody and it might
start looking after itself.”
Meanwhile Ponting said the MCC committee had looked at the idea of
introducing in-game run-penalties in a bid to speed up over-rates.
Numerous sides, as happened at Edgbaston, fail to bowl the regulation 90
overs in a Test-match day and Ponting said the current system of mainly
fining players had failed to eradicate the problem.
“We are of the belief that a there-and-then run penalty in the game would
be definitely worth looking at,” he said.
“You would imagine then the captains would take a huge responsibility in
making sure their players are ready to go through the course of the day.
“If they are not in a position for three or four overs that could be 20
runs and in the context of the game we saw last week that could be the
difference in a Test match.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/2326 hrs