"We knew that something ominous was around the corner" - Greg Chappell on Australia's road to the Newlands fiasco

Former Australian cricketer Greg Chappell recalled the Cape Town saga of 2018 that rocked their cricketing system. Greg Chappell wrote in a column that the events before the incident were signs that something drastic was to happen and held everyone responsible for it.

Australia, under Steve Smith, sustained heavy criticism for ball-tampering during the third Test of the series in South Africa. Skipper Smith, his deputy David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft copped punishments for their involvement. Although Warner and Smith have completed their transitions successfully, the incident remains fresh.

Greg Chappell believes the team's behavior wasn't already up to the mark before that and felt something severe was waiting. The South Australian wrote in his column for The Age:

"There was a period leading up to Cape Town where quite a few of us had the same feeling. We couldn’t tell you what the problem or the blow-up was going to be, but we knew that something ominous was around the corner. In essence, “this is not going to end well."

The series between Australia and South Africa in March 2018 had already started controversially. Warner and South African keeper-batsman Quinton de Kock had indulged in a verbal war during the tea break on the fourth day of the first Test in Durban. The Australian opener copped three demerit points and was fined 75 per cent of the match fee for his outburst.

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"There were opportunities to speak up as an organization and we didn’t do it" : Greg Chappell

Greg Chappell. (Image Credits: Getty)

Greg Chappell further wrote that the responsibility was with everyone as people hadn't stepped up. The 73-year old also remained unconvinced by Australia's good work over the years to improve their image. Chappell added:

"Ultimately, every one of us in the organisation was guilty. We all walked past things we shouldn’t have walked past, from top to bottom. There were opportunities to speak up as an organisation and we didn’t do it. it may take another generation or two before the crutch of nasty, premeditated sledging is fully abandoned by Australian players."

"I am not completely convinced that the good work of the past three years has fully stamped it out: undeniably there are some cricketers who still reckon it is a competitive advantage worth having."

Although the likes of Warner and Smith haven't come under the scanner for their behavior, Test skipper Tim Paine has faced backlash. The 36-year old's ugly sledging against India last summer was met with plenty of criticism. Additionally, a successive series loss to India at home didn't do Paine any favors.