Twenty wickets fell in a day to show how impressive Dom Sibley’s unbeaten 92 was with Hampshire left with a tough task to stay in Division One unless Middlesex help them out

Jon Culley at Edgbaston26-Sep-20171:46

County Championship round-up: Hampshire slip towards drop

After the washout on day one, the sun was warm enough for shirt sleeves at the Birmingham End, spectators settling into their favoured seats, willing the summer to last a little longer. Out in the middle, Warwickshire had the air of a team that could not wait for it to end.They are already relegated and sometimes in such circumstances the appetite for a fight can be a little diminished. At 28 for 5, a wretched year looked to be reaching an appropriate conclusion. By the close of a dramatic day in which 20 wickets fell, the picture would look somewhat different, with Hampshire in danger of joining them. At that moment, though, it all looked depressingly familiar.The senior batsmen, Jonathan Trott and Ian Bell, had both fallen without scoring to Kyle Abbott, the latter offering no stroke to a ball that came back to rattle his off stump. He looked back briefly to assess the damage and you supposed he was wondering how it could have happened. On the other hand, it might have crossed his mind that such misjudgements are no longer such a rarity. He has been out for no runs four times this season and, unless he can rectify matters in the second innings here, this will be the first English season since 2002 that has not witnessed a Bell century.Hampshire might have been equally keen to fast forward to Thursday but for the matter of needing to ensure they do not go down with Warwickshire. The combination of their defeat by Essex at the Ageas Bowl and Middlesex’s win over Lancashire had left them vulnerable, needing 12 points to guarantee they would finish ahead of Somerset.In that regard, the enforced day off had been kind to them. Somerset’s solitary batting point against Middlesex had cut the requirement to eight. Abbott suddenly went down in a heap, having gone over on his ankle in his delivery stride, courtesy of a damp foot mark. But then Fidel Edwards, working up a good pace at the Pavilion End, removed Matt Lamb and Tim Ambrose in quick succession, prompting groans among the sun worshippers.Warwickshire have some problems to address over the winter but they may have found the answer to one in Dominic Sibley, whose decision to leave The Oval last month left Surrey “bitterly disappointed” and with good reason.At 22, he is a batsman of rich promise, clearly, as he demonstrated, of course, in only his third first-class match in 2013 with that double-hundred against Yorkshire, having only just turned 18. He wanted an assurance from Surrey that he would play in the top order in all forms of the game but Alec Stewart, director of cricket at The Oval, was not prepared to give him that.Warwickshire have not said that he has such a guarantee in place now but after watching him carry his bat for 92 here, following two previous half-centuries in a position they have struggled to fill, his preference is not likely to meet any resistance in the immediate future.There was a maturity about him that Ashley Giles believes can be the foundation for a solid career, perhaps one in which he can aspire to an England place. His approach was always positive but only when he began to run out of partners did he begin to take risks.It was a shame for him that there was a moment of controversy towards the end, when he declined to take the word of Hampshire’s captain, George Bailey, over the legitimacy of a catch on the boundary off Mason Crane that would have seen him gone for 84.It was one of those that would have been settled by a third umpire had it happened in a televised match, Bailey sensing his momentum would carry him over the boundary after a running leap for the ball at long-off and opting to flick it back into the air one-handed. He then caught it cleanly with both hands but then there was the matter of where his landing foot was at the moment of the first contact.Jeff Evans, the standing umpire, turned towards his colleague at square leg and shrugged as Bailey claimed the catch and his Hampshire players ran to congratulate him. In the absence of an adjudicator, though, there was no way of removing the doubt and Sibley stayed, with six runs added to his score. Pointedly, as he took the applause of the home dressing room at the close of the innings, few of the Hampshire players joined in.There had been good support from Alex Thomson – a Staffordshire batsman looking to earn a contract at Edgbaston – and Chris Wright in bulking the total up a little. Hampshire have their three bowling points, though. Abbott had recovered from his mishap and Edwards, with 5 for 49, walked off with a swagger after dismissing nine, 10 and 11.Yet this apparent position of strength proved to be no such thing. On a pitch that was offering something to the spinners and seamers alike, the excellence of Sibley’s performance was only enhanced as Hampshire were dismissed for 116 in 34.2 overs of quite unexpected carnage in which only Bailey, ironically, could come anywhere near to matching him.His 55 off 57 balls, which ended with a thin edge to Ambrose off a superb ball by Oliver Hannon-Dalby, was the only score above 16. Hannon-Dalby, called up for his first Championship match since April in place of Boyd Rankin, finished with 4 for 29 – his best figures for seven years. Jeetan Patel took 3 for 19, ominously, on a surface that, from his point of view, is likely only to get better.The upshot is that to stay up Hampshire must leave here with at least a draw or bank on Somerset failing to beat Middlesex at Taunton.

SLC, however, believes it can have a conversation with the players and convince them to tour the country

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2017Sri Lanka’s players have indicated strong reluctance to travel to Lahore for the third T20I against Pakistan, by signing a letter that requests the match be moved to a neutral venue. SLC officials, however, are likely to attempt to convince the players to tour. The board will discuss the issue further at its executive committee meeting on Monday.Though the players have not definitively ruled out traveling to Lahore, the mood in the dressing room is one of firm objection. “I don’t think the players will change their stance,” a cricketer, who was among the 40 contracted players who signed the letter, said. Not only were Suranga Lakmal and Chamara Kapugedera physically present on the bus that was attacked in Lahore in 2009, the other players are aware of the trauma suffered by those on board. The current players also believe the 2009 team suffered a singular attack in the world of sport, and are unwilling to be among the first teams to return to Pakistan.SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said player security remained the board’s primary concern, and that “a decision will be made at the ex-co meeting taking into account all the security information”. But other officials, such as president Thilanga Sumathipala, appear very keen on the team traveling to Pakistan. The board is expected to make an appeal to the players over the next few days. The country’s sports ministry is also keen to send a team.Both parties have tread softly so far, out of a desire not to incense the other: the players have stopped short of issuing a categorical refusal; the board has at no stage indicated there would be punishments for players who decline to travel.But for the other major party in the equation – the PCB – a refusal from Sri Lanka’s main players would amount to a setback, given the progress they had recently made in bringing back international cricket to the country. SLC officials were quick to point out that not only have Sri Lanka’s players been promised the same level of security afforded to the World XI team in September, but that the ICC was also content to now send its match officials to Pakistan.If the majority of players are unconvinced by SLC’s overtures, however, the board may consider sending a second-string team comprised of those who are willing to travel. Thisara Perera, who played in the World XI series, is understood to be favourable towards traveling to Lahore again.The chances of a full-strength Sri Lanka team playing in Lahore, however, have diminished with the signing of this letter. For the administrators of both boards, who had all spoken with optimism about this match going ahead, that is something of a problem.

A Ranji Trophy match will be telecast for the first time this season, a ground will make its Ranji debut, and a team will play the first knockout match in its Ranji history

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2017A Ranji Trophy match will be telecast for the first time this season, a ground will make its Ranji debut, and a team will play its first quarter-final match in history as India’s premier domestic tournament reaches its quarter-final stage on December 7.

Quarter-finals from December 7

• Gujarat (B1) v Bengal (D2) – Jaipur

• Delhi (A2) v Madhya Pradesh (C1) – Vijayawada

• Kerala (B2) v Vidarbha (D1) – Surat

• Karnataka (A1) v Mumbai (C2) – Nagpur

The match between 41-time champions Mumbai and the form team Karnataka, to be played in Nagpur where India beat Sri Lanka earlier this week, will be live on BCCI’s broadcast partners. Although select matches were webcast in the league stages, this will be the first match on TV. Karnataka blitzed through their group with four wins and two draws, and have among their ranks Mayank Agarwal, who has already reached 1064 runs and has sights on VVS Laxman’s record of 1415 runs in a single Ranji season. Mumbai, meanwhile, had to wait until Monday to ensure progress to the next round after having to launch rearguards in the league stages.Vijayawada’s Dr Gokaraju Liala Gangaaraju ACA Cricket Ground will make its Ranji debut as it hosts the match between Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Delhi will likely be without their full-time captain Ishant Sharma, as the third Test starts on December 2, but could well be available should they make it to the semi-final. The ground has already hosted international cricket when the women’s teams from India and West Indies played each other in 2016, and made its first-class debut during a series between India-New Zealand A in September-OctoberThis will be the first time Kerala will play a quarter-final match since the introduction of the tier system in the Ranji Trophy format in 2011. With 31 points, they finished second to the defending champions and the dominant Gujarat side in Group B. With two centuries and an average of 57.70, a rejuvenated Sanju Samson has led their charge. Kerala will face Vidarbha in Surat. Vidarbha led Group D with 31 points.Gujarat, who won five of their six matches outright, will go up against Bengal in Jaipur.Unlike the league matches, which are four-day matches, quarter-finals will be played over five days. The BCCI did not explain how the match-ups was arrived at nor is there any information on how the semi-final match-ups will be decided.

The former Zimbabwe batsman believes that at the very least more talent will remain in, and start coming back to, the country

Danyal Rasool24-Nov-2017The celebratory scenes in Zimbabwe following president Robert Mugabe’s resignation this week will rank among the most iconic moments in the country’s history. And there is hope that the feel-good factor may spill over into the country’s beleaguered cricketing landscape.”Just from a general perspective, there’s a huge sense of euphoria,” former Zimbabwe batsman Grant Flower told ESPNcricinfo. “Obviously not everything’s going to go back to how it was [prior to 2003], but it’s a great start.”Flower, who landed in Harare on Friday, had booked his trip to Zimbabwe well before recent political events – an army-forced change of the country’s leadership – plunged the nation in uncertainty.”I’d come just to see friends. It had nothing to do with cricket or anything else,” Flower said. “I was actually going to go to the UK. But the West Indies games (Pakistan’s home series against West Indies) got called off so I decided to come to Zimbabwe a bit early before I went to the UK.”Mugabe, who had been Zimbabwe’s leader since independence in 1980 – first as Prime Minister and then as President – was also Zimbabwe
Cricket’s chief patron. Though Mugabe’s involvement in the affairs of the national cricket team was minimal, the cause of Zimbabwe’s cricketing woes, much like the country’s, could be traced to the political and economic turmoil caused by his regime.Mugabe’s government had begun a controversial land reform plan for the forced redistribution of thousands of farms from white farmers, with
consequences that were at times violent. And during the 2003 World Cup, which Zimbabwe co-hosted, Grant’s brother Andy Flower and bowler
Henry Olonga protested the “death of democracy” in the country by wearing black armbands. Neither ever played for Zimbabwe again. A year later another dispute, this time between several white cricketers and the board, over selection policies led to many first-team players – including Flower – going on strike. Zimbabwe has lurched from one crisis to another ever since.What may the post-Mugabe era hold for Zimbabwe’s cricket? Incidentally, the set-up is perhaps the most stable it has been since 2003. The board’s financial situation appears to be improving under the new head of operations Faisal Hasnain, and Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis, both of whom had left to pursue county careers in England, have returned.”I’ve spoken to a few ex-players and they are not sure what’s going to change,” Flower said. “Faisal [Hasnain]’s head of operations in Zimbabwe
Cricket and I’ve heard he’s doing a very good job. I’m not too sure if there are going to be any changes. Apparently things are going a lot better.”One of the things that could happen is some people might come back here. Maybe some families and younger players who have tried to go overseas, to either SA or England and Australia, they might come back. There might be a bit of talent coming back into the country. If that does happen that can only be a good thing.”When the political crisis began last week, with the army holding Mugabe under house arrest, there was speculation over whether the country was fit to host the World Cup Qualifier in March 2018. But Flower saw no reason for the tournament to be moved.”Not at all. I was at the Harare Sports Club yesterday, and it looked really good,” he said. “Obviously the series that was just played in Bulawayo went well, against the West Indies. I don’t see any reason why the tournament should be affected.”Flower was more concerned about the pressure on Taylor and Jarvis, who had to be offered attractive packages to return from the country circuit in England. With a board as hard up for cash as Zimbabwe’s has been over recent years, missing the 2019 World Cup would be a financial disaster.”Hopefully the home ground advantage will count, but there’s a lot of pressure, especially on the few guys that have come back for big cash,” Flower said. “Zimbabwe are under pressure to win the qualifiers to get through to the World Cup, because if they don’t, they lose all that money for competing in the World Cup. That’s be a huge setback for Zimbabwe Cricket.”But with things looking up of late for Zimbabwe for the first time in years, Flower said the benefits of the political developments over the last week will become apparent in the next few years, rather than the next few months.”If people see and hear there’s a future ahead of them, whether they are farmers or business people or sportsmen, I’m sure there will be some people coming back. That can only help the talent. There’s not a huge player base here anymore in Zimbabwe, so that would definitely benefit the country. If the player base is broadened that will reinvigorate some excitement and create that old structure that’s been needed for quite a while.”

The Renegades used their two biggest strengths – their bowling and their experience – to pick up a win against Brisbane Heat and go top of the table

The Report by Tim Wigmore23-Dec-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
The Melbourne Renegades have a dreadful record in the Big Bash, with just one semi-final appearance in six seasons. Yet they are the first team in the 2017-18 season to win two games, and, brimming with options with bat and ball, have the feel of a side well-primed to challenge for the title this year. This was a triumph for the nous of Brad Hogg, Dwayne Bravo, Cameron White and Tom Cooper, who all produced exemplary performances, while Jake Widermuth’s three wickets showed the Under-30s could contribute too.The night after one teenage legspinner called Khan won a Big Bash game, another teenage legspinner called Khan briefly threatened to do the same. Shadab, who took the new ball, actually recorded better figures than Rashid – 2 for 17 from his four overs, compared to Rashid’s 2 for 22 – but received nothing like the same support.What happened to the Bash Brothers?
The irrepressible duo of Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum are one of the main drawcards of the Big Bash League. Not on Saturday night, though. This was meant to be the night when Lynn – player of the tournaments in the last two editions of the BBL – returned after a shoulder injury for his first game in seven months. Instead, Lynn was omitted as a precaution – a decision made easier by Brisbane’s opening victory and the expansion of the group stage this year. That left McCullum left to try and provide double the pyrotechnics. He thumped Cooper – unusually bowling the second over, rather than the first – through midwicket for four, and was then clean bowled attempting a reprise, just his second ever dismissal against offspin in the BBL. All that hype, and only five runs from the two Bash Brothers.The squeeze
When Wildermuth, enjoying the best night of his T20 career, snared two other wickets in the Powerplay, Brisbane Heat were floundering at 3 for 28 off 5.2 overs. They needed to consolidate, but they also needed to improve their lame run rate. For much of the alliance between Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Ross, the Renegades seemed almost as happy as the Heat. While the Heat had stopped collapsing, the two added only 39 in 6.3 overs, at exactly a-run-a-ball, and, as they manoeuvred spin as if it were the middle overs of a 1990s ODI. Only Ben Cutting, briefly, shook the Heat out of their torpor.The maestro
Dwayne Bravo took five wickets in the Renegades’ opening game, thereby becoming the first man ever to 400 wickets in T20 cricket. Here he had to be content with two – both in the final over, when another slow ball almost yielded a hat-trick. But as the Heat attempted to salvage a working total, Bravo conceded just 12 across the 18th and 20th overs. He was simply too precise and too smart – again.McCullum’s gambit
In T20, conservative tactics have seldom defended a score as underwhelming as Brisbane’s 8 for 132. Just as well, then, that McCullum is their captain. He made a between-innings decision to entrust Shadab with the new ball, and was not dissuaded when a misfield by Sam Heazlett allowed a four through midwicket in the opening over. In his second over, Shadab’s quicker ball snared Aaron Finch, who is markedly less effective against spin than pace.Given a third straight over, a delivery that skidded on upended Marcus Harris’s middle stump to provoke a little trepidation among the home supporters. But Shadab only had one over left, which McCullum used in the 11th over, in desperate pursuit of a wicket. The trouble was, the asking rate was so untaxing that Cooper and White had no need to take any risks. Shadab’s final delivery was a googly which Cooper just jammed his bat on in time. He had bowled wonderfully in taking 2 for 17, but it would not be enough.Experience wins the day
The Melbourne Renegades are easy to mock for their age – they have seven over-30s and two players, Hodge and Hogg, into their 40s. Yet T20 has proved the format most conducive to veterans. White and Cooper used all their game sense as they navigated the Renegades towards their target without discernible risk. And then victory arrived with a certain swagger: Hodge pulled a six third ball off the 19th over, before, two balls later, Cooper thumped a six of his own, to seal his half-century and the win.

The Vidarbha fast bowler is cover for the injured Ishan Porel and is set to fly to New Zealand on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2018Aditya Thakare has been called up to India’s Under-19 World Cup squad as cover for the injured Ishan Porel. The Vidarbha fast bowler, one of five stand-bys for the squad, is set to fly to New Zealand on Wednesday.Porel injured his left ankle in India’s tournament opener against Australia, in which he could bowl just 4.1 overs. He spent the rest of the innings off the field and did not train ahead of India’s second game, against Papua New Guinea, either.”It’s hard to predict how long he’ll take to recover, but we’re looking at giving him every opportunity to be a part of the campaign again, because this is what he’s worked for,” a member of India’s support staff told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re looking to possibly having him fit in time for the quarter-finals. It could take five days, sometimes seven days. At the moment, he won’t play the game against Zimbabwe either.”Thakare made his first-class debut in the Ranji Trophy final in December 2017, when Vidarbha beat Delhi. While he managed to pick up just two wickets, he impressed with his late swing and accuracy with both the new and old ball. After the game, Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit admitted to having been apprehensive of exposing Thakare in a pressure game, but expressed surprise at his ability after Vidarbha’s maiden title triumph.On Monday, the Vidarbha Cricket Association was asked to provide a report on Thakare’s fitness by the BCCI, following which he was asked not to be considered for any ongoing matches. The call-up means he will miss the Cooch Behar Trophy semi-finals against Karnataka in Nagpur starting Friday.With an Under-19 Trophy in sight, the Vidarbha Cricket Association chose to field him in the junior tournament instead of playing him in the zonal leg of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition. He was part of India’s Under-19 squad for the Asia Cup in Malaysia last year, but didn’t feature in the playing XI.Thakare is only the second player from Vidarbha to be picked in India’s Under-19 World Cup squad. Faiz Fazal, the Vidarbha captain, was part of the 2004 edition, but had to return after fracturing his thumb in a warm-up game. Fazal was replaced by Shikhar Dhawan, who went on to become the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

After the Qalandars suffered their sixth defeat in six matches this season, McCullum suggested that a leadership change might be the best way forward

Umar Farooq09-Mar-2018Brendon McCullum, the Lahore Qalandars captain, has question the execution of his bowlers, and has offered to “offload” his captaincy in a bid to change the fortunes of the side, which has lost all six of its games this season. Effectively, Thursday night’s six-wicket defeat to Islamabad United was Lahore’s eighth straight loss going back to the end of last season. One of the most popular sides in the PSL is set to finish last for the third consecutive season.Lahore have played six different starting XIs this season, with their changes having no effect on their results. The biggest chance they have had was against Islamabad, when they had 163 – their biggest total so far – to defend but ended up losing with 14 balls to spare. With four games remaining Lahore aren’t mathematically out of contention for a spot in the playoffs but their chances are bleak.”Ultimately as captain you’re responsible for the performances. I feel like I’ve done the same things that I do in any team that I’ve led, but unfortunately that hasn’t resonated,” McCullum said. “So that’s the question we’ve got to ask tonight as well – whether it’s better offloading it to someone else and seeing if we can get better results. Doesn’t matter if you’re saying the right things, but if they’re not hitting home or the instructions aren’t being followed, then you’re always going to be pushing it uphill.”Lahore’s batting pattern has been similar throughout, with the openers making solid starts, the middle order collapsing, and the bowlers looking flat. They dropped Umar Akmal, one of their platinum picks, after five successive failures, allowing Anton Devcich to make his PSL debut. He smacked 62 off 42 balls to set up a fighting total. But Islamabad chased it down easily with the help of a 41-ball 77 from Luke Ronchi and Shadab Khan’s 32 off 24. When asked if Lahore’s total was 20 runs short, McCullum shot down the idea, ruing his bowlers’ performance instead.”No, not really. We bowled very poorly,” he said. “I thought it was a very, very good batting performance, set up by Anton Devcich in his first game, and [he] showed how hungry, competitive people are able to prosper. What we did after that, I was really disappointed with, to be honest. It’s not what we’re about and I don’t mind losing, but you expect to be hard to beat. We’ve got some questions to ask tonight and that’s all the way through.”He was particularly unimpressed with the lines they bowled to Ronchi, which he said had deviated from the tactics they had discussed before the match.”You can sit in bowling meetings all you want. You spend an hour today talking about bowling away from Luke Ronchi and then you proceed to run in and bowl at him every single ball, so there’s a disconnect there,” he said. “I don’t know what that is. It’s very hard on the support staff to prepare a team if guys aren’t prepared to listen, but if that’s the case, then we’re going to have to keep making changes, because there are young, enthusiastic guys in our team, which may be an opportunity, especially now since we’re out of the competition.”

The ACA has questioned the process followed by Cricket Australia in arriving at the sanctions for the players, and whether the severity of the punishments were befitting of the offence

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2018While acknowledging that Steven Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft had made “serious mistakes” by ball-tampering in South Africa, the Australian Cricketers Association has questioned the process followed by Cricket Australia in arriving at the sanctions for the players, and whether the severity of the punishments was befitting of the offence.Smith and Warner were banned from international cricket for 12 months by Cricket Australia, and Bancroft for nine. Smith and Bancroft were also banned from leadership positions in Australian cricket for a further 12 months after the end of their ban, while Warner was banned from captaincy positions for life.The ACA said in its statement that while it was right for the players’ mistakes to be sanctioned, there were “a number of glaring and clear anomalies in the process to date which causes the ACA to query the severity and proportionality of the proposed sanctions.”They were as follows:

• The grading and sanctions proposed are considerably higher than the ICC’s grading and sanctions.
• The disproportion between the proposed sanctions and those previously handed down in world cricket for ‘changing the condition of the ball’ – including by Captains of international teams applying artificial substances
• The activation of CA’s Board as a deliberative body on the proposed sanctions
• That public statements by CA to date have not referenced consideration of contextual factors including the environment in South Africa during the series and the impacts on individual players
• The rush to place players before the world’s media last Saturday night without the benefit of considered and coherent advice

The ACA said that it would continue to provide welfare and legal support to the players.Smith, Warner and Bancroft will have the right to challenge CA’s verdicts and also the duration of their penalties via a CA code of behaviour hearing with an independent commissioner, who can also choose whether the hearing is public or private. Players at the hearing will be permitted to call as many witnesses as they like, and also to have legal representation.

A distraught Steven Smith has apologised for the ball-tampering scandal, while breaking down in tears repeatedly during his appearance in front of media soon after his return to Sydney on Thursday

Daniel Brettig29-Mar-2018An utterly broken Steven Smith has taken the weight of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal on his shoulders, admitting full responsibility as captain of the Australian team for the conspiracy to use sandpaper in an attempt to gain reverse swing, and then the cover-up that followed.Having arrived home in Sydney after his ban from playing for 12 months and from captaincy for two years under the Cricket Australia code of behaviour, Smith struggled to hide his grief at what had unfolded since he allowed the vice-captain David Warner and the young opening batsman Cameron Bancroft to put together a scheme to tamper with the ball.

Smith ‘too weak’ to captain again – former Australia PM John Howard

“Sad is the right description. It’s sad for the game, but also sad for young men who have made colossal mistakes. They deserve their punishments, but there must be a way back afterwards, but Smith can never be captain again. He is too weak. The one bright thought is that the immense preoccupation of Australians with the affair reminds us just how much we really love our great game.”

“To all of my team-mates, to fans of cricket all over the world, and to all Australians who are disappointed and angry, I’m sorry,” Smith said in his statement at Sydney airport. “What happened in Cape Town has already been laid out by Cricket Australia. Tonight, I want to make clear that as captain of the Australian cricket team, I take full responsibility. I made a serious error of judgment, and I now understand the consequences. It was a failure of leadership, of my leadership. I’ll do everything I can to make up for my mistake, and the damage it’s caused.”If any good can come of this, if there can be a lesson to others, then I hope I can be a force for change. I know I’ll regret this for the rest of my life. I’m absolutely gutted. I hope in time, I can earn back respect and forgiveness. I’ve been so privileged and honoured to represent my country and captain the Australian cricket team. Cricket is the greatest game in the world. It’s been my life and I hope it can be again. I’m sorry and I’m absolutely devastated.”In addition to his ICC and CA sanctions, Smith has been banned from this year’s IPL and has lost numerous endorsement deals. But it was the thought of his parents that clearly caused him the most pain, as he said when asked of what he would say to the children who had idolised him as the world’s leading batsman and the national captain.”Firstly that I’m deeply sorry. I love the game of cricket. I love entertaining young kids, I love kids wanting to play the great game of cricket that I love,” he said. “Anytime you think about making a questionable decision, think about who you’re affecting. You’re affecting your parents, and to see how my old man’s been … and my mum, it hurts. I just want to say I’m sorry for the pain I’ve, I guess, brought to Australia and the fans and the public. It’s devastating and I’m truly sorry.”Smith did not deflect any blame for the episode onto Warner or Bancroft, saying that things had occurred under his watch as leader. “I don’t blame anyone,” he said. “I’m the captain of the Australian team, it’s on my watch and I take responsibility for the actions of what happened last Saturday in Cape Town. For me, I think my week has been around ‘good people make mistakes’, and I’ve made a big mistake by allowing this to happen. It was a huge error of judgment on my behalf and I’m deeply sorry.”As to whether the Australian team had engaged in ball tampering previously, Smith maintained that this was the first, only and, arguably, last time it would ever be attempted. “To my knowledge, this has never happened before,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve seen this happen, and I can assure you it will never be happening again.”