Eight years after one of Australian cricket’s most infamous incidents, Usman Khawaja claimed in his memoir Sabr that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering attempts and argued that Bancroft, Smith and David Warner should not have been punished alone. A fresh detail about the 2018 Sandpapergate controversy has emerged, with former Australian bowling coach David Saker being accused of asking Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft to lie during a press conference in South Africa about the use of sandpaper.
A fresh detail about the 2018 Sandpapergate controversy has emerged, with former Australian bowling coach David Saker being accused of asking Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft to lie during a press conference in South Africa about the use of sandpaper.
It wasn’t until Cricket Australia announced sanctions against Smith, Bancroft and David Warner that it was publicly admitted he had actually had sandpaper in his hand. Meanwhile, Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins, who has been criticised for remaining silent since Khawaja dropped a bombshell in his memoir, is set to break his silence over the ball-tampering claims when he addresses the media on Friday in Sydney. It’s wet out there. We just need more of it. Then I saw Bangers pick up a piece of sandpaper and put it in his pocket. The coach gave both me and Cameron a wry smile of satisfaction and walked away,” Khawaja wrote.
It also alleged that Saker repeatedly told Bancroft and Smith, “you can’t say sandpaper,” before the infamous press conference on the day the scandal broke. The report further claimed: “Bancroft and Smith were advised by others not to lie, but Bancroft told reporters soon after that it had been tape, not sandpaper, in his possession and that he had been utilising it to lift granules from the pitch to rub on one side of the ball. “With a smile on his face, he said, ‘Bangers, whatever you’re doing, we need more of it. “Guys, I don’t care what happens, but Test cricketers are too good against the straight ball,” the unnamed coach said, according to Khawaja. However, T20I captain Mitchell Marsh has declined to respond to the 2018 ball-tampering allegations, saying he has “moved on” from the episode and does not want “to go back to his recollections” from the time in South Africa.
