It’s widely known that low-grade cricket is not for the thin-skinned. Younger players hoping to work their way up the ranks and make a living out of the game know that on the way they will encounter older players who will never go further and whose sledging comes close to abuse. But the thought that there is an honourable elite at the top is at least some motivation to endure. This summer, the Australian cricket team have proven that idea to be false.

Steve Smith and coach Darren Lehmann have created a culture in the Australian team that promotes a win-at-all-costs attitude, without fear of stepping over the line. No longer does the handshake at the end of the match seem genuine and the teams feel able to all have a beer after the game. Instead we have tribal war.

This culture has had consequences at an individual level for Australian opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, who planned to use yellow tape to alter the condition of a ball. Brad Hogg, former Australian international cricketer and current member of the Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, took to Twitter to express how ‘‘out of character’’ the actions were for a man whom Hogg has known for much of his life.

This culture has also had flow-on effects throughout this cricketing nation. Good mates of mine in lower grade cricket have reported they have encountered sledging from older players in lower grade cricket that has more often crossed the line into abuse than before.