Australian cricketer caught doing ball tampering & then hiding item used to tamper, inside the front part of his pants! Melbourne, Australia based Muddenahalli Group Fake ID fellows should change their ways to avoid having a similar public shame fate

Last updated on 27th March 2018

The comments below are in the context of this Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/vr.ganti.1/videos/10212006732468293/ which is around 1 min. 45 seconds long.

My God! How can somebody be so foolish as to slip that yellow piece of whatever he had, from his pocket to inside the front part of his pants on the open cricket ground! What did he think? That nobody would have caught it?

Terribly sad to see - not only the ball tampering stuff, but this guy's clownish attempt to cover it up.

I wonder what the Muddenahalli Group Facebook Fake ID fellows based in Melbourne, Australia would be thinking about it. Maybe they know that one day they too will be caught in the act and will have to face being shamed publicly like their countryman in this video.

I would like to add that I think the wiseguy types in Muddenahalli group, namely the Facebook Fake ID fellows who attack people like me who are exposing cheap imitator and FALSE BELIEF so called communicator, Madhusudan Rao Naidu, should take a step back, earnestly pray to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi (and NOT pray to cheap imitator Madhusudan Rao Naidu) and contemplate on what is the Sathya-Dharma path for them to follow now.

I think if they do a sincere effort in this matter they will be prompted by Bhagavan within their own hearts to stop the Asathya-Adharma activities they are indulging in, by using fake Facebook IDs and almost-hidden Blogger profiles, to pour vitriol over people critical of Muddenahalli group's Madhusudan Rao Naidu and Narasimhamurthy.

They should follow this inner-prompting (and NOT any instructions of the cheap imitator Madhusudan Rao Naidu). That will be good for them.

It is their choice. If their choice is to continue to do cowardly and conspiratorial attacks on social media hiding behind fake IDs or almost-hidden IDs, then they will surely have to face the negative karmic consequences.

And there is honour in losing a fight by fighting honourably. What honour is there even in winning a fight by hiding behind Facebook fake IDs and almost-hidden Blogger IDs? Such fighting is done by cowards. Let them put aside their cowardice and engage in an open debate using their real-life IDs so that they can be held accountable for their words.

Would Sathya Sai ever be happy if some of His students fought like cowards using Facebook Fake IDs and almost-hidden Blogger IDs? Is that the type of so-called "heroism" that Bhagavan sought to instill in His students?

Of course not! Jai Sai Ram!
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Steve Smith steps down as Australia captain after ball tampering incident, http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/steve-smith-steps-down-australia-captain-ball-tampering-5110773/, 25th March 2018

Ravi: I support this decision of Cricket Australia. Once ball tampering has been accepted by the captain then he has to be relieved of the captaincy. The spirit and fairness of the game is bigger than any individual's brilliance. Of course, Smith should be given the opportunity to redeem himself over time in the game, especially as he chose bravely to acknowledge the truth rather than try to defend himself by lying or staying silent.
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Another video on the same matter from an Australian TV news channel: https://www.facebook.com/9News/videos/1870064683041360/, around 2 mins video, 25th March 2018, of 9 News Australia
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Very encouraging to see how Australian PM Turnbull and Cricket Australia chief Sutherland upheld integrity in the game and clearly stated how disappointed they were with Australian cricket team's ball tampering cheating

We all make mistakes. Even top sporting heroes do. What I really appreciated from the top people in Australia charged with upholding integrity in such matters like the Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Cricket Australia chief Sutherland, is that they did not try to do any cover-up. They made their utter disappointment and even a feeling of shame though they did not use that word, with the Australian cricket team's behaviour, very clear in the video interviews given below.

I fully support and am very encouraged by these remarks of Australian PM Turnbull and CA chief Sutherland. I wish Cricket Australia all the very best in their efforts to ensure that this lapse in integrity by the Australian cricket team is fully investigated, the results of the investigation are shared with the cricket world at large (not Australia alone), and steps are put in place to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Prime Minister Slams Australia’s Cheating Cricketers, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkNjVXcTln0, 4 min 14 secs. by ESPN UK, published on 25th March 2018.

Sutherland: It's a sad day for Australian cricket, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpPPMouoyLk, 9 min. 37 secs by cricket.com.au, published on 24th March 2018.

Here's a pic of the South African cameraman hero, Oscar, who caught the ball tampering on tape: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-sports/capturing-the-moment/article23351249.ece, 26th March 2018. Congratulations to Oscar for a great job in helping to expose cheating in test cricket.

I think it is becoming clear that the junior Aussie cricketer who did the actual ball tampering was instructed to do so by Australian captain Steve Smith and other team leaders. The blame rests mainly on the Australian captain, Steve Smith, for the shame that he has brought to Australia and the game of cricket. He should deeply atone for his act, especially the damage he has done to the career of the junior teammate who would have felt great pressure to follow orders to do the ball tampering.

If there is an Australian cricket team culture of win at all costs, including cheating, then Cricket Australia and the Australian govt. (as the shame impacts the country as a whole - that's how big the game of cricket is in countries like Australia and India) must ensure that such culture is sternly corrected.

It is vital to play cricket at the highest levels where one represents one's country, in a fair way than to win at all costs. It is OK to lose a cricket game or a series, even by very big margins, even at those high international test cricket levels.
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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's words from the first video above:

We all (woke) up this morning shocked and bitterly disappointed by the news from South Africa. It seemed completely beyond belief that the Australian cricket team had been involved in cheating. After all, our cricketers are role models and cricket is synonymous with fair play. How can our team be engaged in cheating like this?
...
But I have to say that (for) the whole nation who (which) holds those who wear the Baggy Green up on a pedestal, about as high as you can get in Australia - certainly higher than any politician, that's for sure - this is a shocking disappointment.

It’s wrong, and I look forward to Cricket Australia taking decisive action soon.

...

I think (in) the disappointment I have expressed, I speak for all Australians saying how shocked and disappointed we all are. It honestly seems beyond belief and I have to say, knowing a number of the players, including the captain, quite out of character. But it's been admitted.

--- end words of Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull ---

Australian captain Steve Smith says in the first video above:

The leadership group knew about it. We spoke about it at lunch. And ah I am not proud of what's happened. Ah you know, it's not within the spirit of the game. My integrity, the team's integrity, the leadership group's integrity coming into question and rightfully so. Um it's not on. It's certainly not on and it won't happen again. I can promise you that under my leadership.

[In response to an inaudible question:] It was the leadership group. I am not naming names. But the leadership group ... talked about and Bangers? (moving his head to indicate his teammate sitting next to him, Cameron Bancroft, who did the actual act of ball tampering) was around at the time and we spoke about it and thought it was a possible way to get advantage. Obviously it didn't work. The umpires didn't see it changed the way the ball was behaving or how it looked or anything like that. Poor choice. And .. deeply regrettable, I guess, our actions.

[In response to an inaudible question:]
No, the coaches weren't involved. It was purely the players and the leadership group that came up with this and, as I said, it's not on, and I can promise you it won't happen again.

[In response to an inaudible question:]
No, I (won't) be considering stepping down. I still think I am the right person for the job. Obviously today, it was a big mistake on my behalf and on the leadership group's behalf as well. But I take responsibility as the captain. I need to take control of the ship (but), you know, this is certainly something that I am not proud of. It's something that I can (hope) learn from and come back strong from. As I said I am embarrassed to be sitting here and talking about this. We are in the middle of such a great series and for something like this to sort of overshadow the great cricket that's being played, and not have a single cricket question in here. You know, that's not what I am about and not what the team's about and, you know, we will move past this. Its a big error in judgement. But we will learn from that and move past it.
---- end words of Australian captain Steve Smith ---

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia CEO says in the second video above:

I just wanted to say at the outset that I was extremely disappointed and shocked to hear the news and read the news this morning, after the events in Cape Town yesterday, and from a Cricket Australia perspective we regard this as an extremely serious issue.
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Australian cricket fans want to be proud of their cricket team - they want to be proud of the Australian cricket team, and I think this morning I (they?) have every reason to wake up and not be proud of the team. It's a very sad day for Australian cricket.

One of the unique things about the game of cricket is that its to be played not only within the laws of the game but in the spirit of the game.

And activities on the field yesterday in Cape Town (are) neither within the laws of the game or within the spirit of the game. And for us at Cricket Australia its extemely disappointing. But more importantly, for Australian cricket fans, its extremely disappointing as well.

Cameron Bancroft was charged under the ICC's Code of Conduct and he accepted that charge and penalty that came with it and after the game, he and Steve Smith spoke about that matter. Unfortunately that's not the end of it and can't be the end of it. We have a responsibility to take this further and to understand more about the issue. And we will over the next couple of days get a deep understanding of what happened and why. And to that end, I have asked our head of integrity, Ian Roy, to travel to South Africa today. Pat Howard, head of team performance, will also go with him and they will be on the ground in South Africa tomorrow. And Ian's brief will be to get (all) the relevant information that we need to address this matter and to understand it better.

I understand that is not necessarily the fullness of response that everyone is looking for right now but you will appreciate that there is an element of process that needs to be undertaken here and you will understand that by (appointing?) our head of integrity to this project, it is being dealt with as a matter of urgency and seriousness. It will be dealt with promptly. We will work very hard over the next couple of days to get to the bottom to it, to understand the picture, to understand the detail, and to be making further comment on that in due course.

Again I just want to repeat two things. One is we are extremely disappointed and shocked at what we woke up to this morning. And secondly we are dealing with this issue with the utmost urgency and seriousness.

---- end words of Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland ---

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CNN too put up an article on the matter: Australia cricket captain to sit out Test over ball-tampering scandal, https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/25/sport/cricket-australia-ball-tampering-intl/index.html, 26th March 2018

The article has a link to this youtube video capturing the incident: Cameron Bancroft caught changing condition of ball - 3rd Test - Day 3 - Australia vs South Africa, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yChk9LEclw, 2 min, by SPNSportsIndia, published on 24th March 2018.
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In Hindi - Kapil Dev the great medium-fast bowler and ex captain of India explains how ball tampering is done using sticky yellow tape with sand stuck to it.

Live Ball Tempering with Kapil Dev | ICC Banned Steve Smith From 1 Test Match | CricNEWS 25/03/2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAU0gusQEoI, around 10 mins.
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Australian media rightly call out Australian cricket team's cheating behaviour as a matter of SHAME

While the Australian Prime Minister and Cricket Australia chief did not use the 'shame' word, Australian media said it loudly! This pic shows headlines of a few newspapers, which I presume are Australian: http://www.observerbd.com/2018/03/26/1522093314.jpg.

I tried to locate a couple of important articles in Australian print media that use the shame word prominently. Here's what I got:

1) Steve Smith’s shame: Captain and Warner step down, ICC acts, [May be blocked by Paywall] https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/smiths-shame-captain-and-warner-step-down/news-story/f400aee4eb49cbc9aa00c4583aa6a399, 26th March 2018

2) For a proud sporting nation, this is a shameful episode, Editorial, https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/for-a-proud-sporting-nation-this-is-a-shameful-episode-20180325-p4z65f.html, 25th March 2018.

The above article also has a reference to India: "When as tourists we travel to countries like India and Sri Lanka, cricket fans know the names of Australian Test batsmen as readily as their own stars."

And I completely support these statements of the Sydney Morning Herald Editorial board: "The decision to tamper with the ball was bad enough. But by selecting the newest member of the team forward to carry out their dirty work, Smith and the unnamed group demonstrated a moral failure that fails every possible leadership test."

The article concludes, "For a nation so proud of its sporting prowess, this is a shameful episode. It is no overstatement to describe this as one of the darkest days in Australian sport."
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Astonishing Admission of Cheating Rocks Australian Cricket, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/26/sports/cricket/australia-cricket-scandal.html, 26th March 2018

The article explains how big the status of an Australian cricket team captain is in Australian society: "It is commonly said in Australia that the captain of the national cricket team is the second most important job in the land. The role goes beyond sports; it bequeaths a certain moral authority, too."
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Adam Gilchrist, great ex wicketkeeper batsman of Australia, on the ball tampering matter

Adam Gilchrist is a great former wicketkeeper batsman of Australia. I like the guy :-). He played hard and has sometimes been a real thorn in India's side when India was playing Australia, but, as far as I know, he played fair. When he talks on sports shows, he comes across as a decent bloke. Here's a video of him being asked about this ball tampering incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9E7zpVxrPY, 13 min. 06 secs.

Gilchrist is asked right at the beginning of the video about how he felt about this matter. Gilchrist replies, "Ah .. Look I was stunned. That was my first reaction. I pick up the phone like a lot of people do in the morning. I just couldn't believe what I saw. That then followed with the emotion of - feeling of embarrassment. But that was overridden by sadness. Ah and its still, still really emotional thing to be - even to believe that I am talking about this. It is unbelievable. But watching the snippets there and being here today, walking around, the comments from everyone - what it's reminded me is just what cricket means to Australians and where it fits in our society and it's part of (the) fabric of the nation. And it means so much. And yet we are now the laughing stock of, not just the cricketing world, but the sporting world."
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ABC Grandstand commentator Jim Maxwell's emotional response to ball-tampering disgrace, http://www.sportingnews.com/au/cricket/news/abc-grandstand-commentator-jim-maxwells-emotional-response-to-ball-tampering-disgrace/1nj66fyupfc091fbu75bufuv32 - Has a short audio, around 1 min., of veteran Australian sports commentator getting emotional about the matter.
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The greatest Australian cricketer, Donald Bradman, on integrity

Given below is an extract from the greatest Australian cricketer, Donald Bradman's wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Bradman :

On 10 December 1985, Bradman was the first of 120 inaugural inductees into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He spoke of his philosophy for considering the stature of athletes:

"When considering the stature of an athlete or for that matter any person, I set great store in certain qualities which I believe to be essential in addition to skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life with dignity, with integrity, courage, and perhaps most of all, with modesty. These virtues are totally compatible with pride, ambition, and competitiveness."

--- end wiki extract ---

The article: Nine to show interview with The Don, http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/99671.html, dated 26th February 2001, is about a TV program tribute to be paid to Donald Bradman who died a day earlier. That tribute would include parts of the last recorded media interview given by Bradman in 1996 to Roy Martin. The article states that Don Bradman told Roy Martin that he would like to be remembered as a man of integrity.

Ravi: That's the value Donald Bradman, the greatest Australian cricketer, gave to integrity! Let's hope that Australian cricket does whatever is needed to re-inculcate such values in its Test cricketing team and the team's captain.

I think this message should also go out to all other top cricketing teams in the world, including India. Integrity is the biggest thing in cricket. Victory comes next. Victory at the expense of integrity is simply 'not cricket'.
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[I thank smh.com.au, nytimes.com and wikipedia, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above small extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]