Langer says Smith-led Aussies were 'spoilt brats'

New coach Justin Langer says the Australian side were behaving like "spoilt brats" ahead of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal and Steve Smith wasn't a strong enough leader to handle the situation.

Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were all suspended for their roles in the incident when sandpaper was used to rough up the ball during the third Test in South Africa in March.

"The whispers were there," Langer said of the team under former coach Darren Lehmann in a British Sky TV interview reported in Australian media Thursday.

"Once upon a time, the opposition didn't like us because we played really good, hard cricket -- we were very skilful and we won a lot of games.

"It's easy to dislike the opposition if they're good, but there have been too many whispers in the last 12 months or so about the abuse on the field, or dare I say, the side playing like spoilt brats."
"So you've got to wonder why it gets to that point? But it has happened now and we have got to make sure we learn from it and get better from it because we can't shy away either."
- Why is Warner so angry? -
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"But he loves the game of cricket -- he practises harder than anyone I've ever met -- and he is a very, very nice young lad. There's no doubt about that."
"It meant that something like Cape Town was probably going to happen, due to brushing over little things. But the little things can turn into big things when you take your eye off the ball."
"The question I'd ask with David is how he got so angry?"