A review into a ball-tampering scandal has condemned an “arrogant” and “controlling” culture at Cricket Australia that led to players cheating in pursuit of victory.
The independent review by the Sydney-based Ethics Centre accused Cricket Australia of only paying lip service to the spirit of the game, leaving players without any moral guidance.
“Responsibility for that larger picture lies with CA and not just the players held directly responsible for the appalling incident at Newlands,” said the review, which was released on Monday.
The scandal involved Australian players using sandpaper to alter the flight of the ball in a Test match against South Africa last March at Cape Town’s Newlands Stadium. Then-captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft were banned from the game.
In its report, Australia’s Ethics Centre, an independent body, made 42 recommendations – 10 for Australian cricket, seven for the men’s national team, and the rest for Cricket Australia. All recommendations save one have been either accepted by Cricket Australia or are under consideration.
Here are all the 42 recommendations:
For Australian cricket
Recommendation 1
Australian Cricket establish, as a standing body, an Ethics Commission to be comprised of three persons – with at least one male and one female member. The members would be nominated by the board of Cricket Australia and appointed only with the unanimous agreement of each state and territory cricket association, the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and Cricket Umpires Australia.
The purpose of the Ethics Commission would be to hold all participants in Australian cricket accountable to the ethical foundations for the game as played in Australia. The Ethics Commission would have no formal powers. Its influence would lie solely in its capacity, in private and/or in public, to approve or disapprove of certain practices occurring on or off the field of play, or in the administration of the game; the conduct of organisations involved in the governance, management or advancement of cricket in Australia.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 2
Australian Cricket establish the Australian Cricket Council – a consultative body that will bring together cricket’s major stakeholders, twice per year, to consider issues of strategic significance to the game.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 3
Cricket Australia should consider establishing a mechanism for consulting with cricket’s fan base – with the intention of developing a mechanism by which the views of fans can inform the deliberations of the Australian Cricket Council.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 4
State and Territory Associations be engaged with the intention of ensuring a consistent ethical foundation for all of Australian cricket. State and Territory Associations should be asked to explain the reason for insisting on any divergence of material significance.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 5
Honours – such as the Alan Border Medal – take into account a player’s character and behaviour as well as their performance in batting and bowling. In line with this, players who have been penalised for poor on-field behaviour should not be eligible as recipients for major awards. Additionally, the status of the Richie Benaud Spirit of Cricket Awards should be elevated.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 6
The “How We Play” Awards should take into consideration alignment with those elements within the Spirit of Cricket not otherwise covered in “How We Play”.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 7
CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association, within a period of 30 days, should commence a process by which they establish a constructive working relationship. This process may require the assistance of a mediator; involve preliminary confidence-building measures; require CA and ACA to respectively ensure that their representatives be committed to and capable of moving the relationship to a positive setting.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 8
The practice of umpires rating the sportsmanship of all grade, state and national Teams should be reinforced as mandatory best practice. At the end of each match, the umpires’ formal assessment of the sportsmanship shown by each team should be published along with the name of any player whose conduct the umpires deem to have been exemplary.
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 9
In Test, Sheffield Shield and Grade matches, following at least one informal warning, umpires should be empowered to exclude players from the field of play for set periods of time and with immediate effect, as a penalty for: Continuous abusive sledging (after one warning); deliberate breaches of the laws of cricket, or; deliberate conduct inconsistent with the Spirit of Cricket (after one formal warning).
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 10
There should be conscious and sustained investment in a program to elevate the status of and respect for umpires across all forms of the game of cricket – and amongst all age groups.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 11
Cricket Australia and its state and territory associations should use their best endeavours to ensure that cricket pitches are prepared in a manner that allows batting and bowling sides a fair opportunity to compete effectively, and maintains regional variety and diversity of playing surfaces.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
For the Australian team
Recommendation 12
The current performance bonus (linked to match wins, series wins and world rankings) should be converted into a payment, without loss to player’s current remuneration, in recognition of: Contributions to the maintenance and development of grass-roots cricket; positive relationships with fans, sponsors, etc.
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 13
There should be core consistency (a clear ‘family resemblance’) between How We Play, the Spirit of Cricket and any additional Ethical Framework applying to elite players.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 14
The role of vice-captain should be ‘de-coupled’ from that of ‘heir apparent’ for the captaincy. The captain should be able to rely on the loyal support of the vice-captain. Rivals for the role of captain should be given leadership development and opportunities to demonstrate leadership in other roles (eg: by captaining sides in different forms of the game).
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 15
Players with leadership aspirations or capacity should undertake formal leadership training – including processes to improve their capacity to display moral courage.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 16
Players on Cricket Australia contracts should be encouraged and enabled to maintain active involvement with Sheffield Shield and Grade cricket. Except when playing major series abroad, players on CA contracts should be made available to the relevant State and Territory Associations, if selected, to play a minimum of two entire Sheffield Shield matches and one Grade match per Australian cricket season.
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 17
Members of Australian Test and One-Day International teams should be excused from playing International T20 cricket to the extent necessary for them to play Sheffield Shield and Grade cricket as per recommendation 15.
Status: Not accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 18
There should be consultation between the player, medical specialist, team captain and chairman of selectors before any decision is made to “rest” that player on medical grounds.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
For Cricket Australia
Recommendation 19
The leadership of Cricket Australia should accept its share of responsibility for the circumstances that gave rise to the ball-tampering incident at Newlands – not as a matter of direct, personal culpability but as a demonstration of responsible leadership and accountability.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 20
The Board of Cricket Australia should appoint a standing committee for Ethics and Culture.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 21
Subject to issues of confidentiality (commercial and otherwise), the board of Cricket Australia should publish the minutes of its meetings (eg: as is done by the Board for Control of Cricket in India).
Status: Cricket Australia said it won’t publish minutes of board meeting but will consider publishing media releases on key outcomes.
Recommendation 22
All Board papers should include a formal section evaluating the ethical implications of proposed policies, practices, agreements or delegations. The assessment of ethical implications should identify key stakeholders, how their interests are likely to be affected and demonstrate how the proposal(s) are consistent with CA’s declared purpose, values and principles.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 23
The board of Cricket Australia should be subject to the organisation’s Code of Conduct.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 24
Cricket Australia should investigate and seek advice to determine if the management of players’ physical and emotional well-being has been consistent with the organisation’s legal and moral obligations, including its duty of care.
Status: Cricket Australia said it will investigate the sports science and sports medicine programmes to confirm compliance.
Recommendation 25
Cricket Australia should review its risk assessment system in order to ensure that risks arising from poor player behaviour are correctly gauged and managed.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
Recommendation 26
Cricket Australia should address issues of clarity in relation to “How We Play”.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 27
All of Cricket Australia’s Codes of Conduct should make specific reference to “How We Play” (or any successor Ethical Framework).
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 28
Cricket Australia should amend its Anti-Harassment Code for Players and Player Support Personnel so that the definition of ‘harassment’ is expanded to include abusive sledging.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 29
Cricket Australia should make explicit (in documentation, etc) a general prohibition against conduct that might reasonably be perceived as bullying.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 30
Cricket Australia should develop and disseminate practical guidance on how to identify and manage ethical dilemmas.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 31
The management of players joining and leaving elite teams should be improved so that the processes are respectful and compassionate.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 32
Cricket Australia’s performance reviews and bonus scheme(s) should be harmonised so that all versions take into account ethical and behavioural considerations as a basis for potential reward.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
Recommendation 33
Executive remuneration should be linked to performance measures relating to the culture of Cricket Australia and – to a lesser degree – to the culture of cricket in Australia.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 34
Cricket Australia senior management should receive additional training to develop their communication skills.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 35
Cricket Australia should set and publish a target for achieving greater diversity (including but not limited to gender diversity) within its executive ranks.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 36
CA commission a review of its HPU (High Performance Unit) – and associated programs – to ensure that they are responsive to the need for highly skilled, ethical players – with the skill and maturity to exercise personal discretion and responsibility – who are not merely compliant.
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 37
Employees overseeing or working within the HPU should be banned from participating in industrial negotiations with players.
Status: Under consideration by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 38
The HPU be responsible for and resourced to develop, not just the physical, mental and emotional attributes of players – but also their characters in line with an ethos of playing ‘hard but fair’.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 39
The board of Cricket Australia should appoint the national selectors in consultation with the Australian team captain and coach.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
Recommendation 40
The General Manager, Team Performance Unit, should be an ad hoc adviser to the Australian team selectors.
Status: In place already, claim Cricket Australia
Recommendation 41
Selectors should be required to take account of a player’s character as well as their skills as a cricketer when making a selection.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
Recommendation 42
Cricket Australia should actively engage with the ICC to adopt those of these recommendations relevant to developing, maintaining and enforcing high ethical standards across international cricket.
Status: Accepted by Cricket Australia
With inputs from AFP
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