Vocal Voices

I don't think many people outside Australia will have too much sympathy for Smith, Warner and Bancroft. The Australians have played nasty cricket for a long time; some of their "sledging" has gone beyond any reasonable limits and they've had a lot to say for themselves until right now.

I know other teams have cheated but the Aussies have been a bit holier than thou about cheating - until they've been found out.

That said probably the worst thing about all this is their snivelling, tear stained interviews on TV to say sorry. OK, you got caught. Take it on the chin and move on, don't turn it into a soap opera.

I'm glad Lehmann has also fallen on his sword because as coach, he must have known about it and turned a blind eye, surely.

It will cost those Aussies, individually, a lot of income as sponsors take fright and lucrative overseas contracts get torn up. Bancroft, for example, isn't coming to Somerset this summer.

I did feel a tad sorry for Smith over that interview though - his whole world crashing down, publically, and in front of his father as well. Let's hope lessons have been learned.

Should be banned for life,and as for the crying ,come on that was only because of the lost sponsorship.

Oh the lost sponsorships will sting, for certain.

Os, one thing I have wondered about is - how did the bowlers not know what was going on?

Most of us have played a bit of cricket and if you bowl medium pace or above, you are looking at the ball inbetween every delivery. You have to, to check the shiny side of the ball and make sure you have it where you want it for the ball to swing one way or the other.

Now call me cynical, but if I bowl, the batsman plays it and a fielder returns the ball to me and all of a sudden one side of the ball is considerably more roughed up than is was thirty seconds since - wouldn't you realise something was up?

Crying out of self-pity, not because of feeling any shame. If they hadn't been caught, they'd still be up to their tricks. It was embarrassing to watch grown men snivelling like naughty children