Justin Langer, the Australia coach, feels that tampering with the ball is not a crime only carried out by Australians, but an ‘international problem’.
Langer took charge of the Australian team following Darren Lehmann’s resignation in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal during the team’s Test tour of South Africa earlier this year. He inherited a team without two of its stalwarts – Steve Smith and David Warner – as well as Cameron Bancroft, all of who were slapped with bans for their roles in the episode in Cape Town.
“In terms of the specific with what happened with the ball, my honest view is, it’s an international problem,” Langer said in an interview with Adam Gilchrist on Fox Cricket.
Following the brouhaha around the incident, Cricket Australia initiated a cultural review of the game in the country, and the report submitted recently called the board ‘arrogant’ and ‘controlling and felt that the board was responsible for creating a win-at-all-costs atmosphere.
“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. 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,” said Langer.
“I think you’ll see that shine over the next little bit.”
