Early 'Ghar Wapsi' for Warner, Smith and Bancroft: Twitter explodes on Cricket Australia's ball-tempering verdict
In an unprecedented move, Cricket Australia on Tuesday decided that Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – accused for ball-tempering — will return home.
Twitter went into meltdown as soon as Cricket Australia’s CEO James Sutherland made the announcement.
Here are some of the wittiest reactions from micro-blogging site:
‘On behalf of Cricket Australia I want to apologise to all Australians that these events have taken place, particularly to all the kids who love cricket and idolise the players. I want to also apologise to Cricket South Africa and South African fans that this issue has overshadowed what otherwise should`ve been a wonderful series,’ Sutherland said during the press conference in Johannesburg.
‘The key finding is that prior knowledge of the ball tampering exercise was limited to three players - captain Steve Smith, vice captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. No other players or support staff had prior knowledge and this includes (coach) Darren Lehmann who despite inaccurate media reports has not resigned from his position, he told media.
Saying that final quantum of punishment will be decided within 24 hours, Sutherland said, ‘All three players who have been reported will leave South Africa tomorrow. Their replacements in the squad for the fourth test here in Johannesburg will be Matthew Renshaw, Glenn Maxwell and Joe Burns. Replacement players will arrive in South Africa over the next 24 hours.’
Tim Paine has been named as the new Australia captain in place of Smith.
The pre-meditated attempt to cheat has drawn condemnation from around the world, with ball-tampering a serious breach of the International Cricket Council`s code of conduct.
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