A11 hit the nail on the head. Sledging, while not completely apart of the game, Is more of a competitive spirit the Australians have (shit almost anybody). Sometimes it gets taken too far but as a whole the intention is right, affect the opposition players game. Mental toughness is as much of any sport as anything else.

The problem is the cheatIng. Itâ??s literally all we give a stuff about, being the best at sports half the world doesnâ??t play. Every bit of character we have molded over the years has no been torn apart by one pathetic, disgraceful act. Sure we are still the team that had the Waughs, Bradman, Ponting, Warne etc but we are also the cheats hat come into town every game we play now.

As for a punishment, like I said before the punishment do Smith and Warner I do not care for, I just would never play them again. I do have a problem with bancroft getting a ban and Iâ??m interested to see how the rest of Australians have reacted to it. He was doing what the boss said, sure he was the one who did it but if your boss tells you to do something you do it. 9 months is too harsh, wouldâ??ve preferred a 6 month ban. Steve Smith may have one of the greatest batting averages in Australia history (I think he is only behind the Sir Donald himself) but fuck him ever playing for Australia again. In saying that a year is probably fair. This is going to affect his mental health greatly (heâ??s not very strong in that department it seems) so Iâ??m happy with it being only one year for that. We donâ??t want the â??poorâ?? kid eventually necking himself.