The man who led a 2011 review into the Australian cricket team believes the ball-tampering crisis can be traced to last year’s pay dispute and assumption of entitlement that framed the players’ demands. But Argus said it appeared standards had slipped, with players becoming driven more by money and less by the contribution they make to society. “In all that noise about the pay dispute, they were saying this is our right, rather than a reward for creating something of value and being a responsible citizen. I see that playing out here.”The acrimonious pay dispute rattled the sport, badly damaging relations between players and Cricket Australia. David Warner, at the heart of the ball-tampering scandal that has seen him and disgraced captain Steve Smith banned for a year, was a key protagonist in the dispute.

Source: Hindustan Times March 29, 2018 05:03 UTC