Ball tampering row: What is going on, said Darren Lehmann on walkie-talkie

Darren Lehmann

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said yesterday that coach Darren Lehmann's furious walkie-talkie exchange with 12th man Peter Handscomb was the crucial evidence that distanced him from the team's ball tampering plot.

TV footage of the scandal-hit third Test showed Darren Lehmann relaying a message down to Handscomb after cameras caught Cameron Bancroft attempting to alter the ball's condition with what Australian officials have said was sandpaper. "I want to clarify that specific point. He sent a message to say 'what the hell is going on', except he didn't use the word 'hell'," Sutherland told reporters here.

Also Read: Shane Warne on Smith-Warner ban: Such severe punishment doesn't fit the crime

Satisfied with investigation
"[Cricket Australia's head of integrity] Iain Roy in his investigation found that to be the fact. "I am satisfied that Darren Lehmann was not involved and didn't know anything about the plan," Sutherland added.

Meanwhile, former Australia captain Allan Border backed under-fire coach Darren Lehmann saying he is one of the "good guys" in the country's cricketing culture. "If [the] integrity officer has been thorough and interviewed people and he's satisfied that Darren Lehmann didn't know specifically what was going on at the time, I'm very relaxed," he told Fox Sports.

"That's a good news item, isn't it, not the other way.

Also Read: With Steve Smith and David Warner gone, it's advantage Virat Kohli and Co Down Under

Darren's a good guy: Border
"We're talking about one of the good guys in Australian cricket," he continued. "He's done a fantastic job with that team and if he wasn't aware of what was going on, there's no problem at all," Border added.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever