The ball tampering row has shaken not just the Australians but the whole world as nobody expected that Aussies can stoop so low for winning matches.
The Cricket Australia has banned Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months and Cameron Bancroft for 9 months. The plan of tampering the ball with the sand paper was David Warner’s idea and execution was the responsibility of Cameron Bancroft. However, it all happened under the leadership of Steve Smith, so it’s quite obvious that he is the one who has to face maximum questions.
Steve Smith returned to Sydney today and accepted that he failed as a leader in the Cape Town Test match. He looked disturbed and while addressing a press conference at Sydney International Airport, there came a moment when he became emotional and broke down.
He had his father Peter Smith standing behind him as a pillar of support in this tough phase. However, the cricketer felt sorry for his family as his actions will have a bad impact on them.
Steve said,
“I want to, as captain of the Australian cricket team, I take full responsibility. I made a serious error in judgement. It was a failure of leadership, my leadership. I will do everything I can to make up for my mistake and the damage it’s caused.”
He added,
“I know I’ll regret this for the rest of my life. I’m absolutely gutted. I say two things, or three things. Firstly, I’m deeply sorry. I love the game of cricket, I love entertaining young kids, I love kids wanting to play the great game of cricket that I love. The two other things is that, any time you think about making a questionable decision, think about who you’re affecting, you’re affecting your parents. To see the way my old man’s been … it hurts. I just want to say I’m sorry for the pain that I’ve brought to Australia and the fans and the public, it’s devastating and I’m truly sorry.”
You can watch the 5-minute heartbreaking press conference video by clicking here
Twitter who was abusing Steve Smith few days ago couldn’t see him cry like this.. Here’s how Twitter reacted:
#1
Awfully hard to watch 😔
— Cam (@cam975) March 29, 2018
#2
https://twitter.com/jimmy_bugg/status/979282361236901888
#3
https://twitter.com/farrel_alvis/status/979281764253184000
#4
https://twitter.com/snaman252/status/979281695537950720
#5
@stevesmith49 just gained one fan. After all these years of hating this guy time to support him I guess. All the best champ. Deleted all my tweets against you.. Come back strong.
Horrible to see sportsmen cry..— Aravinda Aithal (@aravindaaithal) March 29, 2018
#6
Frankly, this presser is enough punishment. The guy is broken. Let him be now to reflect.
— Stabrowski (@stabestweet) March 29, 2018
#7
Sad to see him like this
— Akshay Akhi (@Akshayakhi45) March 29, 2018
#8
Really hard to see him going through this😥😥
— Sushil Acharyaᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@ach_sushil98) March 29, 2018
Steve may feel sorry now but he needs to get punished for going against the spirit of the game. Even cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar feels that he is rightly punished. What do you say?
