Sir Curtley Ambrose has taken a stunning stance on Australia’s ball-tampering scandal, claiming the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner ‘got away with murder’. Smith and Warner were handed year-long bans for their roles in the notorious ‘sandpaper scandal’, while Cameron Bancroft got nine months.
But according to West Indies legend Ambrose, they got off lightly.
“You do not want to deprive professionals doing something that they love,” Ambrose said on ‘Bill and Boz’ on Wednesday night.
“But when you break the law like that you should be punished and I honestly thought they got away with murder.
“I believe they will never do it again. They’ve served their one-year term and I just hope that of Australia support them and I hope that they go to the World Cup because they’ll make the team stronger. I was totally surprised because having played against great Australian teams before nothing like that has ever happened before,” the legend further stated.
Ambrose then went on to say that he was shocked by the incident as it was sheer stupidity on Warner and Smith’s behalf to even attempt something like that in front of so many cameras while adding that it was a dark day for Australian cricket. The 55-year-old stated Australians are very competitive and play hard cricket without violating the rules.
“I couldn’t believe it, to be honest. Especially in today’s world. Thirty years ago, maybe you would have gotten away with it, even though it’s wrong! But with all the cameras around now, everything you do (is captured),” Ambrose said.
“So I couldn’t understand why they even attempted it. And it was really sad. It was really a dark day for Australian cricket. Because what I know, Australians are not like that. They’re very competitive, play hard cricket without breaking the rules. So I was quite surprised when that happened,” Ambrose added.
Meanwhile, Warner and Smith are enjoying a good run of form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 with their respective teams. Warner is currently the Orange Cap holder (most runs) with 349 runs to his name in six matches including three half-centuries and one ton. Whereas Smith has picked up his form in the last two matches after a cold start. The former Aussie skipper has 159 runs under his belt in five matches (batted in four of them) including the highest score of 73 not-out.
