Darren Lehmann says he was in a bad place like everyone else after the ball-tampering scandal
Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann has stated that for some time he was in a bad place like everyone else and it took him few months to start on the recovery path. In one of the lowest phases for the Australian Cricket, three players were banned for being involved in a ball-tampering scandal.
An indomitable side Australia had its reputation at stake in the series against South Africa in which the saga of ball tampering unfolded. Ultimately few players in the team made a horrible decision to alter the condition of the ball to tilt the game in their favour which cost a huge reputation loss to the Australian Cricket.
“I was in a bad place like everyone for a little bit of time. It’s taken me the last three months, I’m starting to feel a bit more normal and enjoying watching the cricket again. Your kids, and when your wife’s copping it you say enough’s enough. That’s when it gets too personal and you take a step back,” Lehmann said to FIVEaa radio.
The players who were actively involved and were punished for the said incident were the team captain Steve Smith, Vice-captain David Warner and youngster Cameron Bancroft. Both the captain and Vice-captain were handed a 12-month ban whereas the young Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban. All the players accepted their punishments without any contest.
“They’re not too bad, they have good days and bad days like everyone. Obviously, that was a pretty big mistake by everyone, but the game moves forward, and they’re going ok, they’re good young men, and they’ll come back playing really good cricket for Australia,” the former Australian international said.
Darren Lehmann who coached the Australian National side for almost five years since taking the charge from mid-2013 also expressed that probably he had overstayed his welcome as the coach of the national team.
“I look back now and I had a fantastic five years coaching Australia. But I look back now and go ‘maybe it was a bit too long’ to be fair. I speak to Justin Langer quite regularly just making sure he gets some time off where he can because you’re on the road and it’s 300 days of high pressure trying to win every game. That takes its toll,” he said.
Darren Lehmann also spoke about the amount of pressure as a coach he had to face during the tenure even though he toned it down a bit saying it enjoyed it all the way.
“It’s 24-7, you don’t sleep. You’re thinking about either the day, the coming day, six months ahead, who you’ve got coming up, what players are coming back from injuries, you’re talking to everyone. It’s literally the most demanding job I’ve ever had, but it’s great fun. Even right to the end, I loved it,” he added.
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