5 Life Lessons From Sandpaper Gate

Cricket Australia banned Warner and Smith for a year and young Bancroft for nine months due to their involvement in ball tampering. Ball tampering as an isolated offense doesn’t demand such harsh punishments. But the entire sledging saga that occurred before this incident and Australia’s ‘Win, Win, Win’ attitude snowballed this incident into something that is not expected from a country’s sporting idols, cheating. The guilty are serving their sentence and it is time for the cricketing world and the world, in general, to learn from this incident.

Here are five life lessons that youngsters, corporate executives, and cricket fans can learn from what is known as Sandpaper Gate.

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#1 Be Perceptive

Blocking oneself from worldview, living in a bubble, limiting one’s thoughts, and looking at something only from one vantage point can prove fatal. This way, you are not aware of the other side of the coin. When you are perceptive, you open your mind to see the world from different perspectives. Everything seems different from a bird’s eye and that from a worm’s eye.

If the three people would’ve been more perceptive, the idea would’ve been shunned. How on Earth were they supposed to get away with using a foreign object when there were cameras all over capturing their every move? Probably, they thought ball tampering isn’t something new and in desperation, they went ahead and did it without even looking at it from someone else’s perspective.

#2 Stand-up Against Unethical Seniors

Young Bancroft happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But he had a choice. When assigned with the task, he could’ve said no. But that isn’t the simplest thing to do when the captain and vice-captain of your team ask you to do it.

This is where one needs to stand up against senior members and make them realize that what they are asking you to do is wrong.

This thought is applicable in a family setting as well as the corporate world. Many-a-times, senior family members ask youngsters to do something which is wrong but has been going on in the name of tradition.

Managers might want their executives to perform a task that they themselves don’t want to do because it is unethical. By asking to do something that is wrong or unethical, the first party is being immoral however, the choice to accept or reject the offer lies with you.

#3 Do Something

Here’s a popular quote, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.’ Using the word ‘evil’ in the context of sport or ball tampering for that matter is extremely implausible. However, the thought fits well.

After the cricketing world was hit by the match-fixing scandal, young cricketers were given an orientation regarding what they should and shouldn’t do. One of the pointers speaks about reporting any untoward incident.

Bancroft could’ve reported the incident to the management. Steve Smith could’ve pointed it out to the coach. But by not doing anything about Warner’s suggestion, both of them became a party to the idea even if they hadn’t gone out and executed it.

If not at that time, the idea could’ve been executed with someone else. It would’ve still been wrong. Now, by doing something, by banning the guilty, Cricket Australia has set a precedent for the world to follow.

#4 Ethics

Australians are devasted by the recent turn of events. Reactions are pouring in from ex-cricketers as well as their Prime Minister.

Michael Hussey expressed his views by saying that character comes before skill. He gave Rahul Dravid’s example and said that the world remembers Dravid for the way he played the game and not just for his centuries.

In my earlier Sportskeeda article, ‘Cricket: A gentleman's game or a reality show?’ I had mentioned ‘Cricket has always been about winning but not about winning at all costs. It is time for introspection.’

After one quits a company or retires from the job they are remembered by their colleagues for how they were as people and not by how they contributed to the company’s profits.

#5 Repercussions

Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In philosophical terms, for everything you say or do, there can be a reaction from someone who has heard you say something or is affected by what you’ve done. Actions have consequences and repercussions.

A week ago, three cricketers tampered the ball in order to get the ball to reverse swing. It is a level two offence as per the International Cricket Council. However, its repercussions have caused mental trauma and financial loss to the cricketers. It has labelled them as cheats and caused outrage amongst fans.

While thinking and executing any act, one must be consciously aware of the repercussions it might cause to oneself, one’s immediate environment, and the world at large.