Huge shock as Aussies admit to ball-tampering

Australia admitted on Saturday that they were guilty of ball-tampering on the third day of the third Test against South Africa at Newlands, yet another sensational drama in this gripping series, and one that will surely lead to severe repercussions.

Twenty minutes before the tea break, television footage showed that Cameron Bancroft had removed something from his pocket and rubbed it on the ball, before putting it back in his pocket.

The on-field umpires, spotting the replay on the big screen, immediately approached the Australian opening batsman for an explanation.

Bancroft pulled a black sunglasses bag – silky and non-abrasive – from his pocket and seemed to suggest that it was merely that that he was putting back in his pocket.

But subsequent replays showed Bancroft had a yellow object in his hand at the time he was handling the ball, which he subsequently shoved down the front of his pants.

No further action was taken by the umpires or the match referee, who were seemingly oblivious to the damning replays being shown on the big screen, television sets all over the ground and spreading like wildfire on social media.

Dale Steyn tweeted “Can we talk about this?” with a photo of Bancroft holding the yellow object and Australian cricket legend Shane Warne, working for the host broadcaster at Newlands, said that he was “very disappointed with the pictures I saw on our coverage here in Cape Town”.

More than an hour after stumps, Bancroft and Australian captain Steven Smith admitted their wrongdoing.

“I’ve had a discussion with the match officials and they are charging me with an attempt to change the condition of the ball. It’s on myself that I saw an opportunity with the granules from the rough patches on the pitch and the sticky side of some tape [the yellow object]. Having sighted myself on the screen I then shoved the tape down my trousers,” Bancroft said.

Captain Smith, however, said that the devious tactic had been thought up by the “leadership group”, thought to contain the likes of himself, David Warner, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc.

“The leadership group knew about it, we spoke about it at lunch and Cameron was around at the time. We thought it was a possible way to get an advantage because we saw this match as being so important. We’ve seen the ball reverse quite a lot all series, but this ball just didn’t seem to go,” Smith said.

The Australian captain added that the whole team are bitterly disappointed by their actions.

“I’m not proud of what happened, it’s not in the spirit of the game, and our integrity will be brought into question, rightly so. I can promise it won’t happen again. It was a poor choice and we deeply regret our actions. The coaches were not involved but all the boys in the shed are very embarrassed by it all.

“It’s not what the Australian team are about and I am incredibly sorry for bringing the game into disrepute. Deep down I think I would feel embarrassed even if we had not been caught because it’s a poor reflection on everyone in the dressing room. Obviously I’ve made a big mistake, but I still think I’m the right person to be captain,” Smith said.

ALSO READ:

//

For more sport your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.