Ball tampering is an international problem - Justin Langer

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https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/104847/australia-cricket-ball-tampering-is-an-international-problem-justin-langer

 

Australia head coach Justin Langer believes ball tampering is more of an "international" problem, one that can only be effectively curbed by getting playing conditions that lead to better bat-ball balance.

 

 

The former Australia opener, who took over as head coach of the men's team in the aftermath of the Newlands scandal that has seen Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft slapped with bans, stressed that Australia's decision to carry sandpaper onto the field was a "huge mistake" but insisted that actions to alter the condition were prevalent worldwide in the sport.

 

 

"In terms of the specific with what happened with the ball, my honest view is, it's an international problem," Langer told Adam Gilchrist in an interview for Fox Cricket. "I can't for a single second understand how we took sandpaper out on to the field, that doesn't make any sense to me. What I do know is that the issue with people ball-tampering is something that's going on internationally."

 

 

Langer commented that it was imperative to prepare the right pitches in order to foster better contests and thereby suppress the need for players to go looking for potentially unethical ways to address the skew. "We've got to get the pitches right around the world so that the ball does move, whether it spins or swings," he said.

 

 

"It's a real worry. The way I think about this is, remember when you're a little kid and you played backyard cricket with your brother and you put the tape on one side of the ball because it had to swing, because if you don't get ball to swing, you can't get your brother out and it's a pretty boring game."

 

 

The Cape Town misconduct forced Australia to conduct a complete review of their cricketing culture, the results of which were made public earlier this week. The Longstaff review found Cricket Australia "arrogant" and "controlling" and held the board at fault for enacting a program that led to a winning-at-all-costs culture. Langer said that the current batch of players in the side would bring about the change in perception.

 

 

"The most interesting thing in my last six months I've heard is that, almost globally, 'The Australian cricket team's culture is terrible. Their behaviours are disgraceful," Langer said. "What I do know is that the players in there are the best young blokes you'll ever see. They work hard, they're really professional and they're really nice young blokes. I think you'll see that shine over the next little bit."

 

[nevada]

I think Langer is right. Every team tries to do something to the ball- whether legal or illegal to make it swing, probably without going to the extreme of using sand paper. Like  Steve Waugh said, stricter penalties can be an effective deterrent.