Monday 2 April 2018 14:07, UK
Australia's players can expect to face the full wrath of fans in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa, according to former England all-rounder Sir Ian Botham.
Australian cricket was thrown into turmoil on Saturday after Cameron Bancroft was caught using a foreign object on the ball and then hiding it down his trousers on day three of the third Test in Cape Town.
Steve Smith later admitted Bancroft had been instructed to tamper with the ball by the team's "senior leadership" group, causing widespread condemnation from the Australian press.
Smith was handed a one-Test ban by the ICC and fined 100 per cent of his match fee, with Bancroft given a 75 per cent fine, although both players can expect to receive further punishment from Cricket Australia, who have sent officials to South Africa to investigate the incident.
Botham believes the incident has ruined the reputation of Australian cricket and expects the current squad to receive a backlash from fans in South Africa.
"The groundswell over here is quite amazing, it is almost bordering on hatred at times," said Botham.
"The players, it will be very tough for them and I think it puts everything about Australian cricket under question.
"People are now talking over here, how long has it been going on for? When else has this been done? There is going to be a lot of questions to be answered.
"I think a lot of people will regret this very much. It's all very well being apologetic now but what on earth possesses you to do something so stupid? It's beyond me."
Darren Lehmann is yet to publicly comment on the incident and Botham says questions need to be asked about the senior members of the Australian coaching team.
"How deep does it go? The players are saying that the management weren't involved, which I hope is true," he said.
"I don't think this decision was made by Smith and Warner, so who else was involved?"
