Administrators make mistakes and players cop punishment: Ian Chappell hits out at Cricket Australia

Australian players who were banned for ball-tampering have a right to be angry about the fact that Cricket Australia administrators got away, former captain Ian Chappell has said.

Chappell was speaking a day after an independent review into the state and culture of Australian cricket called the governing body of the sport in the country “arrogant”. The Ethics Centre’s 145-page report also accused Cricket Australia of having played a part in the ball-tampering scandal.

Former Australia captain Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were handed bans by Cricket Australia for their role in the scandal in South Africa in March. However, Cricket Australia’s officials were not punished for the incident, even though CEO James Sutherland announced his resignation following the controversy.

After the Australian Ethics Centre’s culture report was published on Saturday, there have been growing calls for Cricket Australia chairman David Peever to step down. However, Peever has refused to quit.

“If they are banned and no administrators are tossed out on their backside then that’s not going to help to marry them up again – Cricket Australia and the players,” Chappell said was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au.

Taking a tough stand against the administrators, Chappell said the players have been paying for the mistakes of the administrators and that his been the “history of the game”.

“Quite rightly, the players are going to be angry about that – the fact that it’s only them who have copped it in the neck. But that’s the history of the game. The administrators make the mistakes and the players cop the punishment,” he said.

The three cricketers were handed bans after they admitted to tampering the condition of the ball during the second Test against South Africa at Newlands. Smith and Warner received 12-month bans while Bancroft was barred from playing for nine months.

After the culture report by the Sydney-based centre was published, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said that there is a need to reconsider the bans and penalties on the three cricketers.

“There must be a reconsideration of the harshness of the penalties handed down to Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft,” ACA President Greg Dyer said.

However, Cricket Australia reiterated that the bans will stand.