Why the Australian cricket world lost it over a cheating scandal

Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann stepped down on Thursday as part of the fallout from “SandpaperGate,” in which the national team cheated by tampering with the ball in an attempt to gain an edge over South Africa in a test match.

Lehmann’s decision to resign shocked the cricket world, largely because he was cleared of any wrongdoing following an investigation by Cricket Australia. It was found that the players acted alone and he was unaware of their plan.

So why would a long-time coach in one of the most prestigious jobs in cricket quit because a few of his players broke the rules? Ethos and tradition.

Lehmann’s reason for stepping aside wasn’t that he ordered captain Steve Smith and batsmen Cameron Bancroft to tamper with the ball, but that he was somehow guilty by proxy for them making the decision to cheat.

“After viewing Steve and Cameron’s hurting, it’s only fair that I make this decision. I’m ultimately responsible for the culture of the team.”

A lot of it has to do with Australia’s perceived attitude towards the rest of the cricketing world. What began as a plucky underdog in the first Ashes test in 1882 slowly morphed over time into Australia becoming the force in international cricket in the mid-1990s. With that success came confidence, and a deep-seated love of touting their team as the model for how things “should be done” in the sport. Former England spinner Graeme Swann told BBC Radio 5 live:

“They have set themselves as this higher-than-high, pious team who set the benchmark for what is right and what is wrong in cricket, when everyone who has played against them knows it’s an absolute joke.”

Regardless of whether Swann’s comments are accurate, the perception certainly is. Which is why cricket fans around the world are relishing seeing Australia embroiled in controversy. It’s a desire to see the Aussie’s taken down a peg, which is why a ball tampering charge is always a black mark — but perhaps never taken to this level, especially for a Level 2 Offence (with Level 4 being the worst).

This concept is so foreign to what we expect in American sports. Imagine an MLB manager stepping aside because one of their players had taken performance enhancing drugs, or an NFL coach resigning because a player got into an off-field altercation. It simply wouldn’t happen, but in cricket there’s an expectation not only to breed success on the field, but foster cricket’s culture off it.

Cricket has always prided itself as being above reproach. This is a sport that leans heavily on tradition, and one where an umpire’s bad call is expected to be corrected by the player. If you know you’re out in cricket there’s an expectation you should walk to the clubhouse, whether or not the umpire got it right. But this forward-facing facade of doing things “the right way,” is often juxtaposed with cheating, which isn’t uncommon and often far more blatant than what Australia did.

Regardless, the expectation of fair play is still there, and perhaps more cherished than in any other sport. Cricket holds itself to unnatural levels of morality, and that’s why it might look bizarre to a sports fan over here to see a player break down during a press conference for scuffing up a ball in one game.

Two bodies have overseen how punishments would be handed our. The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia, each handed out their own judgement on captain Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft (who tampered with the ball), and vice captain David Warner (who was part of the group that decided to cheat).

The vast disparity in penalties, and harsher local penalty is a result of how loose ICC rules are on ball tampering. As a result, the sport’s governing body is aiming to strengthen penalties at an international level, with some cricket fans feeling the trio of Aussies got off light, despite being in-line with ICC bylaws.

The punishments from Cricket Australia are hefty, and it’s here where there’s some contention. Some believe the harsh penalties will help protect the future, while others feel Australia was overly harsh on its own players — especially when compared with how easily players from other countries got off for similar offenses.

Australia has named Tim Paine as the current captain, making him the 46th in the 142-year history of the team. It’s currently unclear who will be the new coach of the national team.

Smith and Warner also stepped down from their positions on teams in the Indian Premier League, and were subsequently banned. They also lost sponsorship as a result of the incident.

There’s a saying, predominantly in England and Australia: “It’s not cricket.” It’s shorthand for saying something is wrong, or unfair. A quip designed to say someone was mistreated. That phrase relies on the belief that, above all else, cricket stands as an example of sportsmanship and fair play. That may be a public-facing edifice designed to market the sport, but it’s also a reality for fans. Plenty of people believe in cricket. They believe in what the sport is “supposed” to be, and how this event shaped the sport’s perception.

So while tampering with a ball in baseball might result in a 10-game suspension, it wouldn’t lead to the kind of international incident we’re seeing in cricket. It might seem silly if you haven’t been raised on the ideals the sport represents, but tampering with the ball — It’s not cricket.