Cameron Bancroft's 'self-explanatory for bowlers' admission in ball-tampering saga confirms suspicion

‘Self-explanatory’. These two words have once again rekindled interest in Australian cricket’s painful saga. The 2018 Newlands Test, which was marred by the sandpapergate scandal involving Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith changed the entire face of Australian cricket. Smith, Warner and Bancroft were banned. Darren Lehmann quit as head coach. Cricket Australia underwent a whole culture review. The toxicity and the fundamental of winning at all costs were torn to shreds. Now, these two words by Bancroft in the recent interview to the Guardian about the Newlands ball-tampering scandal threatens to open deeper wounds.

“All I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part. Yeah, obviously, what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory,” Bancroft said. This theory destroys the assumption that the rest of the team did not know. It also throws the focus on the fact that perhaps the entire bowling core of the Australian team probably knew of Bancroft’s actions but chose to deny it steadfastly.

In a recent podcast on BBC 5, former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff questioned the logic of the team not knowing about the incident. “When you sit in a team meeting, everyone knows what you are going to do. I am struggling to think that not everyone knew. You talk about how you treat the ball in team meetings and you talk about this for ages. You have got a designated bloke who is going to look after it more than anyone else. To say that other people or anyone else on the field did not know that the ball was not tampered with is absolute nonsense,” Flintoff said. 

Not knowing myth probably busted?

In team meetings and the dynamics of the dressing room, it might be difficult to comprehend that the Australian cricket team did not know about this. The theory gains massive credence that apart from Smith, Warner, players apart from the leadership core knew about this. 

The moral outrage in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal by many nations spoke of selective memory loss. South African fans forget how Faf du Plessis tampered not once but twice. In 2013, against Pakistan in Dubai, du Plessis scuffed the ball with his zip. In Hobart 2016, du Plessis used mint to tamper.

England has often pushed the boundaries of tampering. In the 2005 Ashes, England players regularly used mints to ensure the ball swung prodigiously. India also tampered with the ball in 2001 when Sachin Tendulkar was caught on camera in Port Elizabeth trying to ‘remove dirt’ from the seam with his fingernails. However, the Indian fans and the media conveniently shut down the theory that Tendulkar had attempted to tamper with the ball. Rahul Dravid was also fined in 2004 for applying a throat lozenge.

Perhaps, the culture of unfriendliness the Australian team had incorporated in Lehmann’s time made them a sitting duck in this scenario. But, the moral outrage is misplaced. Teams have tampered in the past. The sad fact was Australia got caught. 

Bancroft’s admission perhaps makes this theory credible that he, Smith and Warner took the fall for the other team-mates. The investigation by Cricket Australia might reveal something new or nothing. However, Newlands 2018 will forever be a sore point that hurt Australia forever.