Desperation played part in tampering – Gibson

Desperation to win might have driven the Australian team to tamper with the ball during the third test at Newlands, South African coach Ottis Gibson said.

“The Aussies have said themselves that the brand of cricket they play is to win at all costs,” Gibson said of the controversy that erupted when television cameras caught Cameron Bancroft rubbing the ball with a sticky piece of tape. “When you look at the Ashes [against England], they were never really behind in many of the games,” Gibson said. “They won quite comfortably. Here they were behind a couple of times and perhaps that desperation came into it. It’s a shame that something like this had to happen for them to have a look at themselves.”

Gibson acknowledged that teams around the world tried to find a way to get reverse swing. “Every team since the beginning of reverse swing, everybody tries to get the ball reversing,” he said. “They skim it in, they bounce it in, they try and get it rough. The spinner gets his hand in the dirt and rubs it on the ball. Everybody has a way of getting the ball to go a little bit further.” Gibson said strong umpires needed to take control of series such as this one. Kumar Dharmasena and Sunderam Ravi were criticised for not defusing on-field tensions during the first test in Durban, setting the tone for a fractious series. “That’s something for the ICC to look at.”