It is truly astonishing, especially from the vanilla character who inherited the captaincy from the ultra-polarising Michael Clarke, who was today calling Smith a disgrace. Think what you like about Clarke — he never willingly threw the reputation of Australian cricket under the bus by resorting to cheating, as Smith has done.
The Australian captain must be beyond reproach and Smith will never again hold the moral high ground, within his own team or against any opponent. By not only cheating, but conspiring to cheat and involving teammates, he has stooped nearly as low as is possible within sport.
Our cricket captain is often referred to as holding the second-most important job in Australia, behind the Prime Minister.
To diehard sports fans, it may be the most important role; the Australian captain is a beacon of pride, aspiration and integrity, as opposed to the grubbiness inherent in politics.
Today, Smith embraced such grubbiness and the stain will never leave his career. The Australians who hold him up as their shining example are irrevocably disgusted.
‘Equal to the underarm ball’: Is this cricket’s darkest day?
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