Their body language during the initial inquiry of Bancroft and Smith was timid. Whilst they were clearly not fully informed, they lacked the finger-wagging, authoritative manner that is usually the case when an Asian team is involved
Cameron Bancroft is questioned by umpires Nigel Llong (left) and Richard Illingworth during the third Test v SA on Saturday. Pic/AFP
The umpires' conduct has been extraordinary. No five-run penalty. The ball was not replaced, even when they saw the footage during the tea interval. How can this possibly be? The five-run penalty is not something that is awarded if the ball starts to swing round corners. It should be awarded if there is clear evidence of tampering, regardless of whether it was effective or not. Likewise the change of ball. Why did they not follow the rules?
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Timid body language
Their body language during the initial inquiry of Bancroft and Smith was timid. Whilst they were clearly not fully informed, they lacked the finger-wagging, authoritative manner that is usually the case when an Asian team is involved. Think back to any ball tampering incidents involving Pakistan. Did the umpires show similar levels of strong leadership in this case? They were almost apologetic and accepted Bancroft's lies at face value. Smith stood by and listened to the attempt to deceive without showing a shred of leadership and honour.
Throughout the series, the umpires have to shoulder a huge share of the responsibility for allowing tensions to flare. They showed precious little leadership, fanning the flames of disquiet by refusing to step in and stop the chatter before it got out of control. When the ICC Umpires Panel reviews this series, they should accept a huge share of the blame for an abject lack of strong moral authority. Even this ball tampering incident may never have happened if the stakes weren't so high, fuelled by two teams who were allowed more leeway than their maturity and decency deserved.
Australia got sucked into their own black hole and the umpires failed to see what was obvious to viewers in their lounge rooms. Fuelled by a sense of victimhood over the Rabada non-suspension and the Candice Warner indignity, Australia lost their sense of perspective. The masters of the "needle" couldn't handle the series slipping away from them when they felt that they were the victims so they decided to raise the stakes. They got burned by their own hatred. Remember Warner's pre-Ashes comment about hating the opposition? And the umpires missed the obvious signs of a team on the verge of doing something stupid.
When Pat Cummins gave AB de Villiers a mouthful when he was hit for six over cover (why do these idiots sledge AB? It never works!), it was becoming obvious that the pot was boiling over. The umpires did nothing to pull Cummins into line, despite the series being characterised by players going too far because early sledging wasn't nipped in the bud.
Cultural bias
To this end, the umpires in the first two Tests were equally woeful. They lost control early and didn't have the gumption to pull things back. Again, having watched the way they boss Asian teams, one begins to wonder if an unconscious cultural bias is in play. It seems like they are unwilling to confront Australia, hence the skewed statistic that they (Australia) are the least reported team!
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