Steve Smith has fallen short of taking full responsibility for his role in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal despite aiming to clear the air with the public in a tell-all interview, according to Kerry O’Keeffe.
Smith this week opened up about the controversy to Adam Gilchrist in an exclusive interview for Fox Cricket.
He discussed a moment in the Hobart dressing rooms in 2016 when former Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland and high-performance manager Pat Howard reportedly told the players ‘we don’t pay you to play, we pay you to win’.
“For me that was a little bit disappointing, we don’t go out there to try lose games of cricket, we go out there to try and win and play the best way we can,” Smith said about the message.
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O’Keeffe was left disappointed by Smith’s interview, saying the former Australia captain shifted blame by telling the anecdote.
“I want to hear Steve Smith say ‘I take full ownership of what happened’ and not say it’s Pat Howard and James Sutherland’s fault,” he said on Fox Cricket’s Come In Spinner. “You can’t blame your bosses.
“He’s never said ‘I take full ownership’.”
Meanwhile, cricket legend Shane Warne expressed sympathy for David Warner, who is now the only player from the ball-tampering trio to not deliver a tell-all interview since Cape Town.
Warne said the public shouldn’t wait with bated breath for an interview, which he believes may not come any time soon, if at all.
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“I feel for Davey Warner because he’s stuck in a real hard position right now,” Warne said on the program.
“Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have both given their sides of the thing … all of us just want it to sort of disappear.
“Dave Warner I think might [say] ‘I don’t want to talk about it, I’ve had enough I’ve said my piece’.”
Warne added: “Let’s just get on with it.
“I think this has resurfaced everything, which is a shame, but it probably needs to be dealt and I think maybe at a later date, maybe just before he comes back [from suspension].”
Former Australia Test captain Allan Border agreed, saying it’s time for Australia to move on. Although, he added that the interviews didn’t help the situation.
“My personal view is I would have preferred the interviews weren’t done,” he said.
“A lot of the interviews were just rehashing stuff we already know. What was the point of it all?
“I just think they could have just admitted they were responsible for doing the wrong thing and let’s move on.”
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