Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,262
Agree with this, it certainly isn't irrelevant whether Lehmann knew or not. If he knew that would have been much worse, up there with Smith.
If he didn't know it still isn't great for his coaching reputation, because it happened on his watch and he clearly didn't have control over the players or know what was going on in the dressing room - stuff was being done behind his back. If I was a national cricket body looking for a new coach, that would worry me.
He seemed to have control over the players when they stuffed us 4-0 in the Ashes a few weeks ago, and it doesn't matter what you do with the ball when you're posting 1st Innings scores of 649/7 and 662/9.
The truth will out eventually. Even if Smith and Warner come back into the side in 2019 they will do so under a cloud and face the full barrage of the English press and get a guaranteed ribbing from the crowd, not ideal if you are trying to keep a low profile and heap the pressure on England.