Chief Selector Mark Waugh gives major update on the disgraced trio

Former Australian batsman and the current National Chief Selector Mark Waugh has given a major update in the recent sacking of three Australian cricketers. Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft have been handed bans for their involvement in the ‘sandpaper gate’. While Smith and Warner were slapped with one year bans each, Bancroft was banned for 9 months by the Cricket Australia (CA).

The ACA has vouched to speak for the reduction of the ban periods of the three cricketers. However, that seems like a far cry at the moment. For the moment, Mark Waugh has made a bold remark about the disgraced trio. Waugh noted that he will not hesitate to pick any of these three players when the ban period gets lifted.

“My personal contact with these guys is that they’re all good people and very fine players. They’ve made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes. Not one person that I’ve ever met hasn’t made a mistake. It’s so unfortunate they’ve made this mistake and they’re going to pay such a heavy penalty. But we should all look at the facts. You’ve got to let them back into the fold, you’ve got to forgive them and hope they get back to where they were,” Waugh told Sky Sports Radio.

Good players in the reserves

The loss of these key players were deeply and immediately felt by the Australian team. They recently bundled out for a paltry 119 in the final innings of the fourth Test against South Africa in Johannesburg. The Aussies suffered a heavy 492 run defeat in the match.

Certainly, their batting has been dented. Despite this, Mark Waugh noted that there are other fine players in Australia. And in the absence of players like Warner and Smith, others will step up. However, he admitted that replacing the players of the stature of Smith and Warner will be a very tough task to accomplish.

“We’ve still got a lot of fine players in Australia but to lose these three guys, particularly Smith and Warner, it’s going to leave a huge hole in your squad. Cameron Bancroft is a good young man on his way up, it’s going to leave a spot there too which is going to be hard to fill,” noted Waugh.

“You’d be naive to think it will be easy, it’s going to be tough. There are going to be tough times ahead. But at the same time, it gives other guys the chance to step up. India is going to be very tough in Australia and of course there’s a World Cup next year. It’s going to be tough but before too long we’ll be back in the winners’ circle,” he noted further.

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