CRICKET BLOG FOR THE FANS, BY THE FANS

I spend a beautiful Sydney Sunday seething. Absolutely seething.

The Australian cricket team, led by “captain” and “leader” Steve Smith continue to embarrass our great nation. On Thursday, I was called an idiot and anti-Australian on Twitter for putting my views forward on how this Australia team does NOT represent what it means to be Australian. I was right. This group is spineless, and should be ashamed.

For starters, all I’ve seen in the series is the Australians, led by captain Steve Smith and coach Darren Lehmann, whinge and whinge about the treatment they are getting from the South Africans. South Africa, I thank you for exposing this Australian side for what they are – mentally weak, media glorified losers that do not know how to respond when their backs are against the wall. They’ll play the “line” and “moral” card when they are receiving a return to their serve, especially after cruising through an Ashes series against a broken England team, who New Zealand are thrashing as we speak. I hope you enjoy my rant below.

Steve Smith has been nothing but a disgrace in this series, conducting himself pathetically as captain of the Australian team. No character, no leadership, and it’s shown in his batting on pitches that are friendlier for bowling than the disgraceful Australian pitches back home. He hasn’t been willing to stick it out. Firstly, we all know the type of characters David Warner and Quinton de Kock are. One is a loud mouth lunatic, and the other a quiet kid who goes about his business without too much fuss. No prizes for guessing which one is which. Steve Smith has the chance to nip the issue in the bud, and warn his Aussie team that if they are going to give it large to the opposition, they have to expect it back. If you say personal things to the opposition and get it back, don’t be shocked. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Warner ran his mouth first, poking the bear, resulting in a response from de Kock. What does Smith do? Blame de Kock for the entire incident, fuelling more fire between the two sides, by positioning the poor Aussies as the victims. They are NOT the victims. I know it, my Australian friends know it, and much of the Australian public knows it, too. You idiots, who are you trying to fool?

For me, the Kagiso Rabada vs. Steve Smith incident told me everything I needed to know about the character of the captain of our cricket team. When did I realise this, exactly? In the aftermath of the second Test, and ahead of the third. Before Rabada was cleared of his ban, Steve Smith said he’d like to see Rabada play. Then, when KG was cleared, Smith went on the defensive and blasted the ICC for letting him play, claiming “he hit me harder than it actually looked on the footage”.

@cricloverakku exposed this on Twitter.

Poor thing. Did the hospital staff treat you well, mate? It’s un-Australian to be fake, and change your opinion based on what happens.

Then comes the biggest of the lot.

Let me tell you what it means to be Australian. We don’t give up, and we fight till the very end. If it means defeat, so be it, but we know we gave it our all. Think back to the 2005 Ashes. I was devastated at the defeat. I loved that Australian team, because they represented what it meant to be Australian, doing everything in their power to retain the Ashes against an England team that played arguably their best ever cricket. Now, why I’m perceived to be anti-Australia is because this team is a disgrace. They openly admitted to trying to cheat their way back into the Test, which basically told us they have given up, and that they don’t have the fight in them to come back. Spineless.

Picture this. If Cameron Bancroft and the Australians weren’t caught, and bowled South Africa out cheaply with a tampered ball, what would we have seen? We would have seen David Warner giving the Proteas a mouthful, Steve Smith coming out saying how good his side is, and the Australian media (who I HATE with a passion) gloating about how Australia is the better side. Now, rightly so, the Australian cricket team is being exposed for what they are – overpaid, sensitive, easily offended losers that embarrass us all.

Also, picture this. Imagine if the South Africans did this? Faf Du Plessis, in South Africa’s tour of Australia in 2016, was accused of ball tampering because of using gum. What a joke. It’s saliva. Again, Australia positioned themselves as the victims back then, but we weren’t played for fools. This is the proof.

Let me also say this. Steve Smith is copping the brunt of the reaction, and rightly so, but Darren Lehmann, you too are a disgrace. I absolutely loved the fact that the likes of Mark Boucher, Graeme Smith and Michael Vaughan came out and spoke rightly about the abuse they received here in Australia. Darren Lehmann on radio a few years ago said that he hoped Stuart Broad “would go home and cry”, encouraging the Australian crowd to abuse Broad. Now, they can’t handle it. Again, hats off to the South Africa crowds for getting under the skin of the Aussies, and making them cry to mummy.  Here in Australia, the crowds are unforgiving, but we know if we give it, we must be able to take it. This Australian team simply doesn’t understand it, and play the victim card, whilst openly cheating, and then sending a message out to Cameron Bancroft that he’s been spotted on camera with the sandpaper. Weak.

The Australian team is a bunch of hypocrites. They take the moral high ground, draw their own line, but the only ones who ever seem to cross it are the opponents. This Australia team is spineless, and don’t know what it means to be a true Aussie. Steve Smith should be sacked of the captaincy, whilst banned for many matches, and Darren Lehmann sacked from his job. These cricketers barely win away from home, and make themselves out to be the best of all time.

I dare any Australian to come to me via Twitter and argue against my points. Today is a sad day in Australian sport. This is a joke.

Rant OVER.