Overreaction, error and anger still plague Australia's sandpaper response

Mon, 14 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 235, AUS 8/294

Mon, 14 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 7/148, AAW 2/178

Wed, 16 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 161, AAW 5/168

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 272, AUS 6/356

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 6/182, AUU 7/175

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAU 9/238, SAM 0/58

Fri, 18 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, QUE 7/335, VIC 7/339

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 8/271, AUS 9/272

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/239, AAW 235

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAU 115, TAS 1/117

Sun, 20 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 7/341, AUU 239

Mon, 21 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, QUE 358, NSW 6/359

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/338, AAW 8/341

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 4/255, AUU 254

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAM 7/383, TAS 8/376

Wed, 23 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 8/297, AUS 230

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/364, AAW 9/362

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INA 334 & 199, AUA 171 & 200

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, VIC 212, NSW 257

Sat, 26 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 9/365, AUS 333

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 494, AUU 217 & 229

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SYW 4/168, QUW 167

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, VIW 8/293, SAS 7/290

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAW 6/236, TAW 232

Tue, 29 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 4/145, AUS 9/322

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 364 & 257, AAW 176 & 164

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SYW 174, QUW 4/285

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAW 7/273, TAW 7/299

Thu, 1 Oct, 2:00 pm, Final score, VIW -, SAS -

Thu, 1 Oct, 11:00 pm, Final score, INA 167 & 9/310, AUA 358 & 4/173d

Tue, 6 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 149, AUA 274

Tue, 6 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, QUW 9/266, BAW 7/196

Wed, 7 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INU 315 & 0/11, AUU 174 & 151

Fri, 9 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 3/168, BAW 166

Fri, 9 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 206, AUA 275

Sat, 10 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, VIC 244 & 224, SAM 508

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 1/222, BAW 6/220

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 275, AUA 226

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, NSW 9/500d, TAS 245 & 5/402

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 175 & 8/201, QUE 307 & 68

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, VIC 241, SAM 311

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 7/127, ACM 100

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 3/136, BHW 90

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 7/138, PSW 4/139

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 3/79, MSW 78

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 284 & 206, AUS 390 & 6/314d

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, NSW 158, TAS 203

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 246, QUE 261

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 3/78, ACM 7/77

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 4/183, PSW 8/182

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW -, BHW -

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 2/175, BAW 172

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 4/180, MSW 6/179

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 5/165, HHW 8/136

Fri, 16 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 4/86, ACM 83

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 7/397, QUE 271

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 5/136, PSW 8/166

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 5/122, MRW 9/121

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ACM 4/129, MSW 6/132

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 9/105, ASW 6/143

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 8/165, NZW 2/162

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 2/132, HHW 8/129

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 129, ASW 6/139

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 2/93, PSW 92

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 8/155, MSW 5/158

Sun, 18 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 7/167, NZW 8/127

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 6/116, PSW 5/118

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 9/152, SSW 6/153

Tue, 20 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Wed, 21 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 203 & 145, QUE 238 & 4/114

Wed, 21 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 7/134, SSW 8/149

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 9/425d, AUS 99 & 295 f/o

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW -, NZW 2/11

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 241 & 236, VIC 207 & 266

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 339 & 9/244, NSW 6/440d & 5/262d

Thu, 22 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Sat, 24 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 137, VIC 7/304

Sat, 24 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 293, NSW 8/371

Thu, 29 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 9/138, STW 4/140

Thu, 29 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 4/192, HHW 8/174

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 5/154, SSW 6/157

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 3/135, ONG 4/107

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, EN6 0/121, AU6 4/159

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 329 & 387, AUS 429 & 111

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 2/185, MSW 7/164

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 1/138, MRW 6/136

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 154 & 316, WAU 5/406d & 169

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 3/141, UE6 6/88

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 4/180, BHW 5/178

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 8/196, HHW 109

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 427, NSW 202 & 144 f/o

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 5/115, AF6 2/119

Mon, 2 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 109, PSW 9/124

Tue, 3 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, QUE 280 & 3/75, VIC 307 & 173

Wed, 4 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 7/154, MRW 6/155

Thu, 5 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 5/170, BHW 4/184

Thu, 5 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 166, PSW 3/183

Fri, 6 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 7/159, SSW 5/160

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 3/188, ASW 8/152

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 6/119, HHW 9/116

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 159, ENG 251

Sun, 8 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 2/162, STW 158

Sun, 8 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 4/137, MSW 6/136

Tue, 10 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 5/138, ASW 6/139

Wed, 11 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 6/160, STW 5/159

Thu, 12 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 5/165, BHW 2/166

Thu, 12 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 129, SSW 6/140

Thu, 12 Nov, 12:00 am, Live score, QUE 348, TAS 133

Thu, 12 Nov, 12:00 am, Live score, NSW 204 & 2/191, SAM 325

Thu, 12 Nov, 12:00 am, Live score, VIC 5/402d, WAU 3/185

Fri, 13 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Sat, 14 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, HHW versus BHW

Sat, 14 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus ASW

Sun, 15 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, SSW versus MRW

Sun, 15 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Mon, 16 Nov, 10:00 am, Game not started, NSW versus SAM

Mon, 16 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, QUE versus TAS

Mon, 16 Nov, 2:00 pm, Game not started, VIC versus WAU

Mon, 16 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, STW versus MSW

Tue, 17 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, ASW versus SSW

Wed, 18 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Thu, 19 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, HHW versus PSW

Thu, 19 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, BHW versus STW

Fri, 20 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, ASW versus MRW

Sat, 21 Nov, 12:00 pm, Game not started, HHW versus STW

Sat, 21 Nov, 3:30 pm, Game not started, SSW versus PSW

Sat, 21 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Sun, 22 Nov, 10:30 am, Game not started, NSW versus QUE

Sun, 22 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, BHW versus ASW

Sun, 22 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MSW versus MRW

Mon, 23 Nov, 1:30 pm, Game not started, WAU versus TAS

Tue, 24 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus VIC

Tue, 24 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Wed, 25 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MRW versus BHW

Thu, 26 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, STW versus ASW

Thu, 26 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, SSW versus MSW

Fri, 27 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Fri, 27 Nov, 9:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus HHW

Sat, 28 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, MRW versus MSW

Sat, 28 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, STW versus SSW

Sun, 29 Nov, 12:00 pm, Game not started, BHW versus PSW

Sun, 29 Nov, 3:30 pm, Game not started, ASW versus HHW

Sun, 29 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Tue, 1 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Wed, 2 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Thu, 3 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, NSW versus WAU

Thu, 3 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, VIC versus QUE

Thu, 3 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus TAS

Thu, 3 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Sat, 5 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Wed, 9 Dec, 1:20 pm, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Sat, 12 Dec, 8:10 pm, Game not started, MER versus PER

Mon, 14 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAS versus WAW

Tue, 15 Dec, 10:00 am, Game not started, ACM versus SYW

Tue, 15 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Tue, 15 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus SYS

Wed, 16 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAS versus WAW

Wed, 16 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus ADE

Thu, 17 Dec, 10:00 am, Game not started, ACM versus SYW

Thu, 17 Dec, 11:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Thu, 17 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus BRI

Fri, 18 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Fri, 18 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus ADE

Sat, 19 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus VIW

Sat, 19 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus SYS

Sun, 20 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Sun, 20 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus HOB

Mon, 21 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus VIW

Mon, 21 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus BRI

Tue, 22 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYS versus MER

Wed, 23 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus SYT

Thu, 24 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MER versus HOB

Sat, 26 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Sat, 26 Dec, 6:05 pm, Game not started, SYS versus BRI

Sat, 26 Dec, 9:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus MES

Sun, 27 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus MER

Mon, 28 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus ADE

Tue, 29 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus MES

Wed, 30 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus SYT

Thu, 31 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus MES

Fri, 1 Jan 2027, 4:00 pm, Game not started, MER versus SYS

Fri, 1 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus HOB

Sat, 2 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus PER

Sun, 3 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYS versus ADE

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, QUW versus ACM

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 6:05 pm, Game not started, MES versus MER

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 9:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus BRI

Tue, 5 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus SYT

Wed, 6 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, QUW versus ACM

Wed, 6 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus MER

Thu, 7 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus SYS

Fri, 8 Jan 2027, 5:00 pm, Game not started, WAW versus VIW

Fri, 8 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus PER

Sat, 9 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus SYW

Sat, 9 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus ADE

Sun, 10 Jan 2027, 2:10 pm, Game not started, SYS versus PER

Sun, 10 Jan 2027, 5:00 pm, Game not started, WAW versus VIW

Sun, 10 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MER versus BRI

Mon, 11 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus SYW

Mon, 11 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus MES

Tue, 12 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus HOB

Consider a famous scene from the heat of a Test cricket battle. The South African team manager calls the opposition chairman of selectors into a room and says: "You'd better have a look at this." The pair sit down to view some sinister television footage.

The chairman of selectors is aghast at the replays: something comes out of one of his players' trousers and is rubbed against the ball. The ball-tampering player and his own team manager are promptly dispatched to the match referee. What the player has to say for himself, the chairman of selectors later admits, isn't "completely honest".

The player is duly excoriated and his punishment doubled on account of his lying. The press goes into overdrive. Career-ending sackings are called for but don't quite eventuate. And then, eventually, everyone moves on.

The player is not Cameron Bancroft, in case you haven't already guessed. It is Michael Atherton, about whom most of us probably hold far more positive views: a brave opening batter, a thoughtful and perceptive TV and newspaper analyst and something close to a conscience figure in the game, beyond reproach despite that regrettable interlude at Lord's in 1994.

This raises questions about recent events that were not adequately answered in 2018, when Australia's tampering crisis exploded. Firstly, in these tumultuous, adversarial times, can we no longer hold multiple ideas in our heads at once?

Are we really not mature and reasonable enough to say that in the unending and sometimes bitter pursuit of the success Australians demand of them, our cricketers occasionally take things too far, just as Atherton did?

Are we really to put aside the plainly obvious truth that Sandpapergate was, in and of itself, a trifling matter for which a select few got stung with the compound interest on decades of accumulated grievances against entitled, poorly behaved Australian cricketers?

And are we really going to keep shooting the messenger? We might think Usman Khawaja naive, but in our heart of hearts, have we ever really believed that three batters were the only ones who knew about a minor cheating scheme that was of no direct personal benefit to them?

It is possible this entire affair now says far more about the Australian cricket public than it does our cricketers. It certainly says more about their bosses.

As was the case in 2018, the public expressions of dismay, both informed and not, speak of one positive: Australians care deeply about Test cricket and take it personally when they feel its honour is being sullied.

Equally, the defensiveness, the reflexive and faintly sinister demolition of Khawaja's character, and the "leave it in the past" mentality show that an unfortunately large cohort are in favour of administrators burying any form of dishonesty or wrongdoing by their own team, no matter the strength of the evidence in front of their eyes.

It is precisely this dogma that got Australia in this mess in the first place: there is a line, but we decide where it is and whether or not we've crossed it. And when we do, we will bully into submission anyone who talks about it more honestly.

So many people have made this issue about themselves; perhaps you can permit me two personal anecdotes that illustrate broader points that have not been taken seriously enough.

In the first, I am, from memory, nine years old, down at the local cricket club, standing with other boys in a semicircle around our coach. He has in his hand a two-piece Red King cricket ball that has been battered so often against our cyclone fencing practice nets that it looks like roadkill. The coach is showing us what to do when a ball has degenerated beyond spit and polish treatment: pick the seam, gouge one side, hope for the best.

In the second, I'm in my mid-30s, working as a publisher but engaged in the unliterary task of searching the abrasives aisle of the local hardware store for the perfect piece of yellow sandpaper. It will be torn into small pieces and photographed to feature on the cover of Gideon Haigh's Sandpapergate book, Crossing the Line: How Australian Cricket Lost Its Way.

The first scenario was a point made with possibly unnecessary force this week by Stuart MacGill: everybody does it and always has (although perhaps not on the wall of the SCG dugout). Any club cricketer who says they are unfamiliar with at least some form of ball alteration is either an extremely disengaged teammate or a member of Pinocchio's Invitational XI.

As for the second, and putting aside the claim that Australian batsmen were using sandpaper on their bats — not beyond the realms of possibility, but behaviour that would be "rare" in both senses that cricketers use that word — it prompted a feeling that has never left me: "Someone in the Australian cricket team made this exact trip to Bunnings warehouse."

There were, in other words, both subconscious cultural factors and very obvious acts of premeditation at play in 2018 that always made the denials appear ludicrous.

Frankly, it is time that a lot of people grew up and acknowledged that a messy pile of accumulated facts are occasionally going to contradict each other, and that the truth is not as neat as a cricket scorecard. Some key points we should always bear in mind:

One: it is implausible that only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were aware the ball was being altered.

Two: many lies were, and since have been, told in service of Cricket Australia's process of "investigation", which put public relations priorities well ahead of the truth.

Three: having committed to a PR version of punishment, acting not in response to a case of ball tampering but to a public relations disaster, Cricket Australia was bound to hand out disproportionate penalties that have warped our rational sense of wrongdoing.

Four: the actual truth — or at least a version of it that did not insult our intelligence — was always bound to come out eventually. That it has occurred when some of the extremely well-remunerated players are still main characters should not mean it is buried again.

Five: Test cricketers are human beings, as prone to white lies and interpersonal dramas as the rest of us, with the added burden of intense scrutiny of their every move. The idea that any one of them would experience, process and recall certain events the same way as another is preposterous.

Six: It is equally preposterous to think every Australian player gets on with his teammates all the time, or that inevitable frictions are as dramatic as they have been made out to be. Australian Test stars of previous generations have, in books and post-career media work, detailed threatened (and actual) lawsuits against each other, exposure of infidelities, even death threats. Most of them have hugged it out in the end.

What many fans are left with, probably, is the similarly vague sense of anger and resentment — "This again? Really?" — that followed the original events. Cricket is a game for soul-searchers and its history is pockmarked with these moral eruptions.

Anger, in this case as in others before it, needs a target. The easiest one is Khawaja, because it is less practical and cathartic to direct it at faceless administrators. But make no mistake: back then, they absolutely bottled a situation that demanded level heads, and now they claim there is nothing else to see here.

What would a level-headed reaction have looked like in 2018? That was the question faced by English chairman of selectors Ray Illingworth when he dealt with the Atherton affair.

To go with the media's lashings, Atherton was fined £2,000 — a proactive measure to ward off the suspension that was the preference of the Australian match referee, Peter Burge.

Years later, Illingworth pondered what a suspension would have meant for Atherton. "It could have finished him off as captain," he wrote in 2006. "[But] I don't think he would have been happy no matter the outcome."

"We were the first country to step in on the matter. Richie Benaud came up to me afterwards and said: 'Well done, you've handled it brilliantly.'"

It is something nobody would say of Cricket Australia.