The war of words between India and Australia moved from the turf to the boardroom as both Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) issued statements backing their respective teams and their captains.
The concluding day of the second Test here at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium had witnessed high drama, where Steve Smith, after admitting to have tried receiving inputs from the dressing room before deciding on an umpiring review, called it a ‘brain fade’ and a one-off only to be sharply contradicted later by Virat Kohli.
“I saw that happening two times when I was batting,” Kohli had said. “I pointed out to the umpire that I’ve seen their players looking upstairs for confirmation. We also told the match referee that they’ve been doing that for the last three days and this had to stop.”
Cricket Australia, in a statement released at 12.55 p.m. IST on Wednesday, sought to rebut this allegation that Smith’s was not an isolated incident. It also stated that there was no dishonest motive behind his actions.
“We reject any commentary that suggests our integrity was brought into disrepute or that systemic unfair tactics are used, and stand by Steve and the Australian Cricketers who are proudly representing our country,” said James Sutherland, CEO, Cricket Australia,
“I find the allegations questioning the integrity of Steve Smith, the Australian Team and the dressing room, outrageous. Steve is an outstanding cricketer and person, and role model to many aspiring cricketers and we have every faith that there was no ill-intent in his actions,” he added.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann too vehemently denied the charges.
“Never, ever, ever. Very surprised to hear that, but it’s their opinion,” Lehmann told the travelling Australian media. “He [Kohli] has his opinion and we have ours, but at the end of the day we play the game the right way. We’ve never done any of that, so we’ll just get on with the next game.”
Change in mindset
Lehmann also said that this Australian team was far removed from those he was part of which would have responded aggressively to Kohli’s charge.
“Gone are the days when we used to be probably the other way, and I was part of that as an Australian side. The young guys, the way they want to portray themselves and encourage people to play the game and enjoy the game has been exceptional.”
The BCCI statement, sent nearly three hours after Cricket Australia’s, supported Kohli in equally clear terms but provided no evidence to substantiate his claims on the two other incidents.
It referred only to the episode which played out in full view and asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) “to take cognisance of the fact that the Australian skipper Mr. Steve Smith in his press conference admitted to a ‘brain fade’ at that moment.”
“The BCCI, after due deliberation and seeing the video replays of the episode, steadfastly stands with the Indian team and its captain,” it said.
“Mr. Virat Kohli is a mature and seasoned cricketer and his conduct on the field has been exemplary. His action was supported by ICC Elite Panel umpire Mr. Nigel Llong who rushed in to dissuade Mr. Steve Smith from taking recourse to inappropriate assistance.”
A link to the video clip of the incident and the press conference which followed were provided at the end of the release.
No action, says ICC
The ICC said “no further action” would be taken against the skippers, but the match referee would bring them together ahead of the next Test “to remind them of their responsibilities to the game.”
