Steve Smith, David Warner warned by match referee in Sheffield Shield in 2016 for ball-tampering: reports

Agencies
March 30, 2018

Sydney, Mar 30: A match referee warned of disgraced Australian cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner "being involved in a ball-tampering incident" in the domestic Sheffield Shield in 2016, a media report said.

The report came after Smith and Warner were stripped of the captaincy and vice-captaincy and banned for a year from the sport after being caught up in a plot to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test against South Africa.

Daryl Harper said the pair were not engaging in fair play while representing New South Wales in a match against Victoria in November 2016, according to an email he sent to Cricket Australia's match referee and umpire selection manager Simon Taufel, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

"When David Warner repeatedly bounced his returns in to (NSW wicket-keeper) Peter Nevill on the first day, the umpires appealed to Smith to support their calls for fair play," the former Australian Test umpire reportedly wrote in the email.

"They weren't encouraged by his response. I assisted the umpires on the second morning by suggesting to (NSW coach) Trent Johnston that CA didn't need an issue with the national captain being involved in a ball-tampering incident."

Harper, who is Australian, said Smith had complained about the state of the Sydney Cricket Ground pitch after his team lost, and also "gave the impression that he wasn't happy to be playing the Sheffield Shield match".

"This was at the same time that the South African captain (Faf du Plessis) was under scrutiny (for ball tampering) and before he had been charged," Harper added. "As it transpired, there were no further errant throws for the final three days of the game from either team. Steve's participation in the post-match meeting was quite limp, and not as I would expect from our national captain."

Cricket Australia has announced a review into team culture in the wake of the South Africa ball-tampering scandal. Smith and Bancroft held emotional press conferences in Australia yesterday after returning from South Africa, while coach Darren Lehmann said he would quit after the fourth and final Test which starts Friday, despite being cleared of any involvement in the affair.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: England batsman James Vince lashed out at people for not taking proper measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and said people are going out as if "everything is normal".

"Just seen the pictures of people out and about today as if everything is normal. What selfish people, surely by now they've realised this is serious. Well done to everyone who's doing their bit and staying in," Vince tweeted.

On March 13, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Europe was now the 'epicentre' of the disease.

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus in the UK has exceeded 4,313 with at least 708 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the largest one-day rise since the start of the outbreak as confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The total number of cases in the UK as on Saturday is 41,903, a rise of 3,735 cases in the last 24 hours.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Expressing solidarity with the 'Black Lives Matter' campaign, star West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.

Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.

"I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on," he posted on instagram on Monday night.

"Racism is not only in football, it's in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud," he said.

The big-hitting batsman's comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd's death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck as he gasped for breath.

The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.

"Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!," Gayle wrote.

Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand.

New Zealand's top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.

Also on Monday night, the England cricket team's official twitter handle posted a message denouncing racism.

"We stand for diversity, We stand against racism," the message read.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Filipina weightlifting star Hidilyn Diaz noticed live-streamed concerts were collecting money for coronavirus relief and was struck by inspiration: why not raise funds with an online workout?

Since then the Olympic silver-medallist -- and strong contender for her country's first Games gold -- has made enough money to buy food packs for hundreds of hard-hit families in the Philippines.

Diaz has done it all from Malaysia, where she was training to qualify for the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics when much of the world locked down against the virus in March.

"I thought (distribution) would be impossible because I'm not physically present," Diaz, 29, told news agency.

"It's a good thing that I have trusted friends and trusted family members who understand why we need to do a fundraising."

That circle of supporters has handed out the packages, which include vegetables, eggs and rice, to more than 400 families.

The food was bought with donations from about 50 people who joined sessions that lasted up to three hours, and gave them a rare chance to train with an elite athlete.

Diaz rose to fame in 2016 after snagging a surprise silver in the 53 kilogramme category in Rio, becoming the Philippines' first female Olympic medallist and ending the nation's 20-year medal drought at the Games.

Two years later, she won gold at the Asian Games in Indonesia.

However, her quest to qualify for Tokyo is on hold ahead of the Games' rescheduled opening in July 2021.

"I thought all the hard work would soon be over... then it was extended," she said. "But I'm still thankful I can still continue with (the training) I need to do."

Still, the lockdown broke her daily training regimen, keeping her away from weights for 14 days for the first time in her career.

"I felt like I was losing my mind already. I've been carrying the barbell for 18 years and all of a sudden it's gone. Those were the kinds of anxiety that I felt," she said.

But she got access to some equipment, and with her coach's urging, got back to work. She was relieved to find her strength was still there.

Instead of a Tokyo berth, the past months have been about a different kind of accomplishment for Diaz: helping her countrymen get through the coronavirus crisis.

Rosemelyn Francisco's family in Zamboanga City, Diaz's home town, is one of the first to get help from the athlete's initiative, and is deeply grateful.

Her family was not wealthy to begin with, and the pandemic has cost her husband his construction job.

"The food she donated has all everything we need, including eggs," said Francisco, 27.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.