Former coach Darren Lehmann has stated that his Australia side always played within the spirit of the game during his tenure.
Lehmann had resigned from his position as head coach of the Australian team following the ball-tampering scandal that erupted on their tour of South Africa earlier this year. Captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were then handed a one-year ban from international and domestic cricket by Cricket Australia while Cameron Bancroft was given a nine-month ban.
Following the saga, Australia’s dressing room culture came in for sharp criticism from all quarters but Lehmann has now defended his tenure in a recent interview with Macquarie Sports Radio with whom he has signed on as a commentator.
“There was a lot of talk about the Australian team being over-aggressive and there were some incidents in some games that they probably pushed it too far,” he said.
Lehmann feels the Australian players were treated too harshly.
“But the ‘Australian way’, I think Justin Langer summed it up really well – a bit of banter on the field is good and playing that way.
“They got dealt with accordingly from the ICC and match referee when they crossed that line but the Australians play that way in essence a lot of the time.”
The 48-year-old feels that sledging is common place in international cricket and believes that the media have portrayed his men too harshly.
“You want to promote the game fairly and play hard but fair on the field. When I played, there was a lot worse sledging going on in those days and years before. They’re not as bad as portrayed in the media,” Lehmann said.
