It is safe to say Australia cricket team has become the laughing stock of world cricket following its involvement in ball-tampering in the recently-concluded Test match against South Africa in Cape Town.
Batting stars, including Steve Smith and David Warner, have been on the receiving end of and sanctions and public furore after the former was forced to admit the involvement of "leadership group" in the ball-tampering incident, which was carried out by opener Cameron Bancroft on Saturday, March 24 at the Newlands Cricket Ground.
Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull echoed the thoughts of quite a few cricket fans from the country when he said he had woken up to the news of "cheating" Sunday, March 26 "shocked and bitterly disappointed".
Kevin Pietersen shares viral music video
As it turns out, triple j, one of the national radio stations of Australia, poked fun at their national cricket team by releasing a video titled: "We cheat at cricket".
The music video, set to 10cc's cricket classic Dreadlock Holiday, seems to be providing comic relief to the heartbroken fans from the country. Shared on the radio channel's official Facebook page Monday, the video has garnered more than two million views and is being shared widely on social media.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who was among the many from the cricket fraternity to slam Smith and his men, has shared the video.
"Ouch. Aussies smashing their own!" Pietersen wrote as the caption.
Interestingly, the music video not only takes a dig at the recent ball-tampering controversy, but also mentions the infamous 1981 incident involving Greg Chappell and his brother Trevor, who bowled a then legal under-arm delivery to deny New Zealand a win in the final ball of an ODI match.
Watch "We cheat at cricket" music video below
The much-publicized incident came to light Saturday after television cameras spotted Bancroft stuffing a yellow tape into his pants. He had been spotted using the tape to alter the condition of the red-cherry in a bid to help Australian bowlers get reverse-swing.
Later in the day, Smith and Bancroft told the media the Australian "leadership group" had sat down during lunch break in Cape Town to plan the ball-tampering saga.
Opener David Warner, fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and off-spinner Nathan Lyon are believed to be part of the group that orchestrated the "shameful" act.
Meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has slapped a one-match ban on Smith, who will be paying 100% of his match fee as fine as well. The 27-year-old, who is widely regarded as one of the best batsmen of the modern era, was also forced to step down as captain of the national team.
Smith was also replaced by Ajinkya Rahane as the captain of Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals. Cricket Australia, who are probing the incident, is expected to ban the former captain for one year, according to media reports.
