That said, the ball tampering affair which led to the suspensions of an Australian test captain, vice-captain and a rookie opening batsman, needs to be put into perspective along with the tosh and drivel uttered by cricket’s media and a team of former captains and Test players.

That perspective was encapsulated by former coach, John Buchanan, who said upon the suggestions that the three ball tampering culprits should have the suspensions reduced, the trio had a choice to make and they chose cheating; that’s the real issue in this particular part of cricket’s demise. What they did was cheating - no more, no less.

It was not cricket and it should not be the Australian way. If other countries tolerate players who indulge in cheating then it is up to their home ruling body to do what Cricket Australia’s (CA) did and boot the cheats out. CA has its problems and we will come to that but they have been much maligned for the decision to suspend the three players concerned and set a clear example.

Ian McLachlan, a CA director from 2004-12 before the now disastrous transfer to corporatisation which has wrecked cricket administration in Australia with its “win at all costs” modus operandi, wants a return to a “properly constructed board” (his words) similar to the pre-2012 corporate disaster. He wants control returned to the states and thus connection regained with the sport at the grassroots level.

McLachlan was a Liberal minister in the Howard Government, played first class cricket for South Australia and is given most credit for supporting the recent transformation of Adelaide Oval for AFL football and night cricket. He is a good thinker; a mover and shaker, the type who would get Australian cricket back to its basics and out of the hands of those who see the sport as a cash cow for overpaid players, officials and appointed executives with no real comprehension about promulgation of the sport other than to call for some expensive consultancy to produce a report without adequate referral to the grassroots level.

In his recent address in Wagga for competitors in The Male Run, the great David Parkin reflected on his role as the last part-time AFL coach and his thoughts about the importance of today’s concept of full-time professional players, alluding to his preference for players either having a job or studying for a job or profession while playing.

It was a valid point and obviously worked, AFL teams coached by the part-timer Parkin won four premierships. Australian cricket should try his recipe!

There are other aspects to CA’s dilemmas that need addressing. CA has paid scant regard to supporting umpires at all levels of the sport which has led, without doubt, to no respect on-field for sportsmanship and to the massive outbreak of sledging.

The superior Riverina batsman in my time, Stan Sly, argued, “being a cricketer means you need to look like one”, and he wasn’t referring to dress standards only. Sir Donald Bradman put it another way: “I set great store in certain qualities which I believe to be essential in addition to skill. They are that the person conducts his or her life with dignity, courage and perhaps most of all, with modesty”.

My most cherished words from Bradman are those about the greatest Australian team of all time, the one he led unbeaten across Britain in 1948; 31 first class matches over 112 days: “We may not have come home with our pockets full of money but we do retain priceless memories”.

Once again as it is across so many domains in modern life, our cricketing fraternity too needs to turn to history to regain respect so grossly missing these days. Other aspects of cricket’s current muddling administration that bear comment are such positions as “high performance manager” – a useless title that should be encompassed by selectors and coaches.

It should be noted that Mark Taylor has finally stepped down from CA’s board, suggesting there was a conflict of interest with his media positions. It took some time for this to sink in, but CA should have acted sooner and with selector Mark Waugh. Let’s hope when new chairman, Earl Eddings, takes the new ball at CA he gives a few history lessons in his opening “overs”.