The return of Australia in South Africa for a three-match Test series, starting on Friday has brought back fresh memories of Sandpaper gate back in 2018. With the World Test Championship (WTC) in line, table-toppers Australia will face the defending champions in Durban, Gqeberha and Cape Town, the results of which will play a huge role in the standings.
But before the start of the all-important Test series, South African broadcaster SuperSport has given the Australian team a stark reminder, with a social media post, captioned “our cameras will be sharp”. The post also included a camera emoji, thus bringing back eight-year-old memories.
The reference of SuperSport’s post dates back to March 24, 2018, when the cameras caught then Australian batter , altering the condition of the ball with a small yellow object in the middle of a Test match against South Africa at Newlands. The footage showed Bancroft putting the object down his trousers after using it on the ball.
Based on a TOI report, the host broadcaster has been tasked to look out for anything unusual during the series after the umpires got alerted by the scandal. It also stated that SuperSport’s coverage in 2018 had more than 30 cameras, with 18 operated by camera crews.
Upon investigation, it was reported that Bancroft used a sandpaper to rough up one side of the ball to make it swing in the air. A further investigation revealed that, then captain Steve Smith and then vice-captain David Warner were also involved in the act.
After the scandal, handed one year bans to Smith and Warner while Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban from cricket. Coach Darren Lehmann also resigned from his post. While and Smith were able to make comebacks to the Australian team and become a regular, Bancroft couldn’t make it long tern despite being called back after.
Tim Paine took over as the Australian Test captain at that time.
However, Australia have banned several players in the current setup, who were a part of that Newlands match. Smith, who was the skipper of Australia during that 2018 Newlands match, is a part of the current squad, but as a vice-captain to .
Cummins was also a part of that infamous game, along with , Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who are all currently in the squad. Matt Renshaw, who had joined the Australian side in 2018 as a replacement for the final Test, is also in the current team.
Bancroft has not played a Test for Australia in more than six years.
Meanwhile, fast bowler was officially out and world champion South Africa confirmed it was fielding two spinners against Australia in the first Test at Kingsmead on Friday.
Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer have been paired at a venue which has favored spin in recent years. They last played together in South Africa’s last test last November, a 408-run win in Guwahati that clinched a first series win in India in 25 years.
Rabada was given as long as possible to recover from a hamstring injury. He has not played an official match since May in the Indian Premier League.
