Darren Lehmann (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Former England cricketer and match referee Chris Broad has launched a scathing attack on former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, questioning how he could have been unaware of the incident and arguing that he escaped accountability. The former England player also brought up Lehmann’s criticism of his son, former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, during the 2013 Ashes series. The controversy erupted during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught attempting to alter the condition of the ball using sandpaper.
“Darren Lehmann surely knew all about it,” Broad said on Track Radio, as quoted by Fox Sports. The then Australia coach subsequently warned that his side would make the England pacer “cry” when they toured Australia. I am very angry at Darren Lehmann in this respect,” Broad said.
Broad’s comments come amid fresh revelations by former Australia batter Usman Khawaja , who has claimed in his upcoming autobiography, Sabr, that the entire Australian squad, including players and support staff, knew about the ball-tampering episode during the tour of South Africa. “And if he did not, he should not have been the coach at the time. I think he has got away lightly … OK, he left his job a few months later, but he did not get any sanctions. “And here he is, the coach of the Australian cricket team that brought sandpaper out onto the field of play and denied any knowledge of this happening. Then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were handed one-year bans from competitive cricket, while Bancroft received a nine-month suspension from international and domestic cricket. Khawaja has argued that the responsibility for the episode was collective and that Smith, Warner and Bancroft should not have been left to shoulder the blame alone. He also questioned Cricket Australia’s investigation, claiming that several members of the team were not interviewed despite allegedly having knowledge of the incident.