James Sutherland had serious "WTF Moment" on ball-tampering scandal
Ex-Australian Cricket Chief James Sutherland has asserted that he had a serious “WTF moment" when he found out about the ball-tampering scandal. Sutherland stepped down from his post after 17 years with a deep sense of regret and claimed that he could have done something to prevent the scandal.
Sutherland had switched off his TV just before the infamous sandpaper incident where Cameron Bancroft had attempted to alter the ball with a piece of yellow sandpaper with
"At a guess, it would've been about midnight I suppose (that he turned off the TV) but, yeah, I wish I was watching, absolutely," he told ESPNcricinfo in an interview.
"It was a serious WTF moment there. I'd like to think that my judgement and possibly influence would have meant that the media conference would have gone slightly differently.”
Smith and his deputy Warner were sent home in disgrace and subsequently banned from international and state cricket for a period of one year. Bancroft was handed a lighter sanction of nine months. Aussie coach - Darren Lehmann resigned and Sutherland eventually chose to walk away after coming under sustained pressure.
Sutherland also claimed that his voice was unheard, "I was heartbroken by the events that happened and I think that in some ways I totally understand that in the heat of battle things can boil over and go awry and there can be regrettable incidents. Part of the extent of my disappointment around Cape Town is heightened by what happened earlier in the series, and my feeling that there were warning signals.”
A lot of questions were raised over the deterioration of players under his leadership. Sutherland said a lesson was learnt from the whole Cape Town scandal after the overwhelming public backlashing that the entire Australian cricket fraternity was subjected to from all across the globe.
"There were lots of other things going on, and some disgraceful behaviour during the Port Elizabeth Test, provocation by opposition fans but also administrators from the opposition team. It's a reminder to everyone as to how important cricket is... and the pedestal on which the Australian cricket team is held and the expectations that come with being an Australian cricketer," he said.
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