I’m a mad cricket fan, I was brought up on the game and some of my earliest memories are watching the summer of cricket on TV at home. I vividly remember the first game I saw live. It was the 2003 Ashes and it was Steve Waugh’s Perfect Day where he achieved the milestone of 10,000 Test runs and scored a century on the last ball of the day. Since then, I have enjoyed many great games at the SCG and one very special day at the 2015 Ashes at Lords in England.

So naturally, the events of the last few weeks in cricket has shaken me. The ball tampering scandal in South Africa where Australian players deliberately roughed up the ball, contrary to the rules of the game, has been an unavoidable topic in Australian media. Whether you follow cricket or not it was impossible to miss the coverage of these events. But what surprised me was how deeply hurt I felt personally. I think this was a reaction many had and shows how deep sport runs in the Australian psyche.

I’ve been reflecting on these events in Chapel over the last two weeks both at Lindfield and at the Stanmore because I think this incident has a lot to teach us. This incident goes to the heart of what does good sportsmanship look like. This incident went completely against any moral code or expectations of sports players. And as we reflect on this we should remember what good sportsmanship looks like. I think Paul in his letter to the Philippians gives us an insight. 

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

These are important values and should always underpin our attitudes when we go out on the sporting field. But more than that these are good values for whatever we do in life.

This ball tampering incident teaches us all another lesson; how do we deal with our mistakes. All of us have, or will, make mistakes in our life but the question is how do we deal with it when we do. These three players realised the repercussions of their actions and they owned up to it. They didn’t try to make excuses or hide behind somebody else. They took responsibility and accepted the consequences. This is something that we should all remember when we make mistakes.

Although I am disappointed and hurt by what has gone on, my support for Australian cricket hasn’t waned. I hope the players and administrators can learn from this event and improve the sport to be something that we can all be proud of. But more than that this incident gives us a chance to step back and reflect on the lessons it shows us for our own lives.

Richard La’Brooy – Chaplain