Michael Hussey has his say on ball-tampering saga
Michael Hussey was one of the greatest finishers of all time. The match was never over for Australia until Hussey returned to the pavilion without the win in the bag. When it comes to representing the Baggie Greens with honour, Hussey was among the most honest.
So when he heard of the ball-tampering saga, he was obviously disappointed. Writing in a column for the Players Voice, Hussey stated that the Aussie team might have lost some integrity over the years as the ball-tampering issue is among the long list of notorious things for which the Australian cricket team made the headlines.
“I feel like we’ve lost sight of some of these principles in recent years. This does not apply to everyone – there are some very good people representing Australia at the moment – but the ball tampering issue isn’t the first time the team as a collective has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
“I worry for guys like Steve Smith and Dave Warner and their reputations after the ball-tampering episode at Newlands.”
Hussey then wrote that while no matter how great a player was, they are always remembered for what they did, which is why it is going to be very difficult for Smith and Warner to clean up their reputation.
“Organisations – both within cricket and in the wider business community – remember these things after you’ve finished playing. When they’re assessing whether to sign you, they’re taking into account your character, your reputation and whether you enhance their brand.
“Those things take years and years to build and moments to lose. And once they’re gone, they can be difficult to reclaim.
The legendary former left-handed batsman then added that he was very disappointed when he watched the press conference, before mentioning that while he and his team-mates brainstormed about ideas about how to reverse the ball, they never resorted to stooping so low and using external means to achieve it.
“I was really disappointed when I watched that press conference.
“It made me think about my time in dressing rooms and the kinds of discussions we had. We would definitely talk about trying to get the ball to go reverse – every team in the world does – but it was always by doing things like bowling cross-seam. We didn’t talk about scratching the ball, or doing anything illegal. We didn’t think about it.
“I’m surprised guys like Warner, Smith and Cameron Bancroft were open to the idea of playing outside the rules. Umpires will forgive a team to a point for throwing a ball into the ground to try and rough it up. But using a foreign substance? It’s not on. It never has been.”
