Authorities let that happen: Waugh on ball-tampering

Former Australia captain Steve Waugh said that cricket authorities were to blame for Australia resorting to ball-tampering in a Test match against South Africa.

Coach Darren Lehmann quit in the wake of the uproar and then-captain Steve Smith, deputy David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft were banned from the game.

The backlash rocked Australian cricket to its core, undermining the long-held notion that its players were "tough but fair".

Critics blamed a win-at-all-costs mentality that they said developed under CA chief executive James Sutherland and his management team.

CA previously denied the charge but set up the two separate inquiries to examine how the scandal occurred. Waugh said that lack of stringent punishment and the lack of concern from authorities were to blame for the scandal.

ICC, for their part suspended Smith for a match and fined him 100 percent of his match fee after the incident. Warner was not handed any punishments while Bancroft was fined 75 percent of his match fee and handed three de-merit points.

“You know they push the boundaries a bit by throwing the ball into the rough on the ground, which they shouldn't do and then it's escalated from there. It's a shame how it got to the point that it did but I guess the authorities let that happen," Waugh was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"They are in a bit of a bubble and they are protected, you know they are insulated from a lot of things. They've got a lot of people around the side that protect them and tell them how good they are and how everything's fantastic and sometimes you can lose touch with reality and I think that was best summed up when Steve Smith said that 'we won't make that same mistake again and we'll just get on with it'.

Asked about Smith and Warner, the former captain reiterated that the two can still come back.

“They've got to have the passion, they've got to have the desire but I think it's a great chance of redemption. The Australian public will forgive and move on and they have an opportunity to really be role models to kids going forward.”