Former Opener Questions CA’s Response to Ball-Tampering Saga
Former Test opener Ed Cowan has criticized Cricket Australia’s (CA) handling of the ball-tampering controversy that occurred during last week’s India A tour match against Australia A in Mackay. Cowan’s comments echo the sentiments expressed by his former teammate, David Warner.
Speaking on the ABC Grandstand Cricket podcast, Cowan stated that umpire Shawn Craig, who accused the Indian fielders of “scratching” the ball, was “hung out to dry” by CA in an attempt to sweep the issue under the rug. Cowan believes that if the incident had involved a team other than India, the reaction from CA would have been vastly different.
“He [Craig] has had no support from his employer. He has seen something on the field and in his best judgement, tried to rectify that,” Cowan said. “Then Cricket Australia have worked out they’ve got an issue… which is similar to any other time India are aggrieved, they threatened to maybe pull a tour.”
Cowan further emphasized that integrity matters “the whole time” and cannot be selectively applied, drawing a comparison to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal involving former Australian players Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith, and David Warner.
Cricket great Ian Healy had earlier expressed his belief that India A “were up to something” during the match, suggesting the tourists were “gearing up for a big reverse-swing session” to put pressure on the Australian batsmen.
Similar to Cowan, Warner had stated that CA “squashed it [the ball-tampering accusation] as fast as they could, given that India is coming out here this summer.”
The first Test between Australia and India is scheduled to begin on November 22 in Perth.
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