Sandpaper Gate | Darren Lehmann steps down from as Australian head coach
Darren Lehmann has stated that he won't continue as the head coach of the Australian team in the aftermath of the ball-tampering saga that disturbed their cricket dynamics. Earlier, CA’s internal investigation didn’t find Lehmann’s involvement in the Sandpaper-gate scandal and gave him a clean chit.
Earlier, yesterday, Cricket Australia laid down the marker by banning their captain-vice-captain duo of Steve Smith and David Warner for a year each and the main culprit, who decided to carry on the act on the field, Cameron Bancroft for a period of nine months for bringing disrepute to the game of cricket and hurting the sentiments of the Australian fans.
However, the board has dismissed the claims about the involvement of Lehmann in the entire fiasco and the latter also attended a press conference yesterday vowing to work on the direction to change the culture of the cricket team. But, less than 24 hours after the presser, he decided to step down from the role.
"This will be my last Test as head coach of the Australian cricket team as I am stepping down. After seeing events in the media today with Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft, the feeling is that Australian cricket needs to move forward and it is the right thing to do,” an emotional Lehmann on the eve of the fourth Test against South Africa at the Wanderers told the media persons, reported ESPN Cricinfo.
"I really feel for Steve as I saw him crying in front of the media and all the players are really hurting. As I have stated before, I had no prior knowledge of the incident and don't condone what happened before.
"As many who sit in this room will know, life on the road means a lot of time away from loved ones and after speaking to my family, it is the right time to step away. I hope the team rebuilds and the Australian public can forgive the young men and get behind the XI."
Lehmann had taken over the role of the coach of the team in 2013 in the aftermath of the homework-gate incident which saw Mickey Arthur being sacked as the Australian head coach. While many controversies rocked the Australian cricket during Lehmann’s tenure, his period also saw some moments of grit and glory as Australia won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 at home. Under him, Steve Smith, one of the venerated batsmen in the current generation and now disgraced, prospered from a part-time batsman to a world beater that he has been.
Lehmann, a strong advocate of Steve Waugh school of doctrine when it comes to bullying the opponents, was also at the forefront of a dominating Ashes win towards the end of the year, which could be considered as revenge for the team’s loss in England in 2015 under the leadership of one of Australia’s greatest batsmen, Michael Clarke.
However, his period has also seen a controversy and diatribes following every now and then. But, Lehmann advocated for being tough on the field like the way he used to be during the golden generation of the Australian cricket. But, his position became untenable after the recent ball-tampering saga and he was under fire from many quarters.
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