Cricket crisis stems from 'entitlement culture'

The man who led a 2011 review into the Australian cricket team believes the ball-tampering scandal stems from a sense of entitlement among players, highlighted by a bitter pay dispute last year.

Sparked by a poor Ashes series, the review, headed by Don Argus alongside former ICC chief Malcolm Speed and greats Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor, led to an overhaul of how the Australian team was led and coached.

But Argus said it appeared standards had slipped, with players becoming driven more by money and less by the contribution they make to society.

"When you think about the pedestal we put our cricketers on, to them wealth seems to be a right, not a reward," he told The Australian newspaper.

"In all that noise about the pay dispute, they were saying this is our right, rather than a reward for creating something of value and being a responsible citizen.

"When you have an industrial dispute like that, it takes a team of people and a fair bit of time to get over it. I see that playing out here."
"Cricket is no different. They picked Steve because of his obvious talents with a cricket bat, but if Steve comes under a very strong individual like David Warner ... maybe he can't handle that scene."