Australian head coach Darren Lehmann has finally broken his silence on the massive ball-tampering scandal, saying that he and his entire cricket team have to change their culture and need to learn from New Zealand the way they play cricket.


Talking for the first time since the Cape Town ball-tampering fiasco that saw the provisional suspension of former skipper Steve Smith, former vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, Lehmann admitted that their former style of "butting heads on the line" would not stand anymore and that they need to oversee a cultural overhaul in order to save his team's shattered reputation.


"We need to change how we play and within the boundaries we play. Obviously, previously we've butted heads on the line but that's not the way to go about us playing cricket moving forward. The thing for me would be if we take a leaf out of someone like New Zealand's book, the way they play and respect the opposition," cricket.com.au quoted Lehmann, as saying.


"We do respect the opposition but we push the boundaries on the ground. So, we've got to make sure we're respecting the game, its traditions, and understanding (how) the game holds itself around the world," he added.


In the wake of the scandal that shocked the cricket world, Australia's team culture has come under scanner because of the way the national side behaves on the field and the way they are perceived by the public.


While urging everyone to forgive the disgraced trio, a tearful Lehmann insisted that though the three players had made "grave mistake", they are not bad people and should be given a second chance in life. -- PTI