Aussie opener caught in ball-tampering row
Cameron Bancroft is now at the centre of ball-tampering controversy after what he did on the ground on day three of the 3rd Test between South Africa and Australia. The Aussie opener was shown using a foreign object on the ball shortly before tea on Saturday.
Regarding the incident, umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth met mid-pitch and Bancroft was then shown sliding the yellow object into his pants and when interrogated, the Australian pulled out the black cover of his sunglasses from his pocket.
After a conversation between with 12th man Peter Handscomb who had entered the field of play, Bancroft hid the actual object that he had used to rub the ball.
During the tea-break, former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and former Aussie spinner Shane Warne spoke about the incident.
"In my opinion, I think he's tampered with the ball and used an object to do that," Graeme Smith said.
"It does look like it's a bit of sandpaper. The footage doesn't look good.
"You can see that he's taking something out of his pocket, using it on the ball, and once the message comes out (to the umpires) he's clearly hiding it away. When he gets approached he takes out the old sunglasses cleaner (from his pocket)."
"You've got to own up and say what was it that you were hiding," Warne reportedly said. "You can't have that in the game. We've got to get to the bottom of it. You know when you get caught you've got to own up and be honest. The Aussies have to be honest and say 'this is how it happened’."
Former Australia captain Allan Border added: "It is very suspicious. There is no doubt about that. If you're caught doing the wrong thing, you've got to pay the penalty."
The umpires did not replace the ball after speaking to Bancroft, neither did they award five penalty runs to the Proteas.
"I'm quite amazed the umpires haven't done anything with the ball. The footage is quite damning.
"For me, it's quite obvious that he's doing something with the ball and the umpires need to do something about it," Smith said in commentary.
Both Warne and Smith were certain that Bancroft wouldn’t have decided to do such a thing on his own.
"If it is proved that what has gone on in the footage is correct then some tough questions have to be asked of Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann.
“I think there is a lot of questions that need to be answered and Australia need to answer them. The leadership needs to answer for that in my opinion," Smith said.
Under the ICC code of conduct, if found guilty, this can lead to four demerit points, a total that brings about a one-Test ban, for the player.
Earlier, Australia coach Darren Lehmann admitted that there are certain “techniques” that get the ball reverse following the Durban Test.
"Obviously, there are techniques used by both sides to get the ball reverse and that's just the way the game goes," Lehmann reportedly said. "I have no problems with it, simple. You'd have to ask the umpires and ICC about that one [whether it is legal]. I don't mind the ball moving, I have no problems with it at all.
"It makes great viewing as a fan of the game. It's challenging for batters and challenging for bowlers to get it in the right position. If you don't get it in the right position, you saw [on day four] we didn't bowl very well for about two or three hours. It reversed and we couldn't get it right. They scored very heavily, so you've still got to bowl well."
