Australia coach Justin Langer vowed on Saturday to put a smile back into cricket as South African skipper Faf Du Plessis said he expects the sledging to be toned down in their one-day series.
The two sides meet in Perth on Sunday for the first time since the Test series in South Africa this year boiled over with Australian players attempting to alter the ball with sandpaper. The cheating saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft banned, while David Lehmann quit as coach. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has since left and chairman David Peever fell on his sword on Thursday.
“It’s sad, isn’t it? Everyone seems to be at each other. There’s lots of criticism,” he said of the atmosphere surrounding Australian cricket.
“What we can do is we can prepare well, we can play good cricket, and be entertaining and put on a good show so Australians can start smiling a bit.
“One thing sport can do and the Australian cricket can do is put smiles on faces rather than everyone throwing stones at each other.”
Australia have lost 16 of their past 18 one-day internationals and are desperate to get off on the right foot in Perth.
