The ball-tampering scandal that rocked world cricket unfolded during Australia’s Test tour of South Africa in March 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera attempting to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing through the air.
For the first time since the incident, Australia are preparing for a Test series in South Africa, with the first Test in Durban starting Friday.
The Incident at Cape Town
The scandal occurred on day three of the third Test in Cape Town while South Africa were batting in their second innings. Bancroft was spotted trying to alter the ball’s condition and attempted to hide the sandpaper, which he initially claimed was a piece of tape, in his trousers after realising he had been seen.
At the end of the day’s play, Bancroft and Australia captain Steve Smith admitted to ball-tampering in a press conference, though not initially to the use of sandpaper. Smith revealed the plan had been devised by the ‘leadership group’ at lunch.
Immediate Consequences
Smith and vice-captain David Warner stood down from their leadership roles for the remainder of the Cape Town Test but continued playing. The team, now captained by Tim Paine, slumped to a 322-run defeat after being rolled for just 107 in their second innings, with Warner top-scoring with 32, Bancroft making 26 and Smith seven.
Smith, Warner and Bancroft were sent home ahead of the fourth Test, in which Australia were hammered by 492 runs to fall to a 3-1 series defeat. All three were later found by Cricket Australia to have engaged in conduct against the spirit of the game and harmful to its interests.
The Bans Handed Down
Warner was found to have led the plot to alter the condition of the ball, including guiding Bancroft on how to use the sandpaper. He was slapped with a one-year ban and told he would never be considered for a leadership position within the team again.
Smith was also suspended for 12 months after failing to prevent a plan he was aware of and making misleading comments. He was informed he would not be able to take a leadership role until at least 12 months after the conclusion of his ban.
Bancroft received a nine-month suspension from international and domestic cricket.
Additional Fallout
Smith and Warner were removed from the 2018 IPL, where they were due to play for and initially captain Rajasthan Royals and SunRisers Hyderabad respectively. Bancroft saw Somerset cancel the deal he had signed to play county cricket.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann, now coaching Northamptonshire in county cricket, was cleared of any involvement in the ball-tampering scandal but opted to resign after the fourth and final Test against South Africa.
Without Smith, Warner and Bancroft, Australia would go on to lose Test series away to Pakistan and at home to India, before a 2-0 win in Sri Lanka preceded their comeback series, the 2-2 Ashes draw in England in the summer of 2019.
Debate Over Severity of Punishments
Some argued that the sanctions meted out were too severe, including former India internationals Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh and broadcaster and former Hampshire captain Mark Nicholas, a view shared by the late Shane Warne.
Leg-spin legend Warne, who died in 2022, said while it was “embarrassing” for Australia to be caught up in the scandal, he felt worldwide “hysteria” led to a punishment “not fitting the crime”.
Smith and Bancroft gave emotional press conferences on their returns to Australia after being sent home, while Bancroft later admitted he had considered quitting and becoming a yoga teacher during his enforced break from the game.
Long-Term Impact on Careers
While all three players went on to represent Australia again, and Smith is still doing so, Bancroft’s international career arguably never truly recovered. His two Tests at the start of the 2019 Ashes remain his last international matches at this point.
Warner, who retired from internationals in 2024, applied to have his lifetime captaincy ban lifted but then revoked that in 2022. The suspension was ultimately lifted and he went on to lead Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.
Smith’s Reflection on the Trauma
Speaking recently to News Corp, Smith said: “That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that, in a way.”
“The 24-48 hours after being told I was getting banned for a year, going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing a press conference… I still have little flashbacks here and there of it.”
“I felt like I was kind of thrown to the wolves through Johannesburg airport. I didn’t have any support there at all.”
“It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial few days after. The mental state I was in was not great.”
“That’s somewhere I’d like not to get to again, but I certainly learned from that and have been able to move forward with my life.”
“I’ve tried to kind of erase a lot of 2018 and what happened. I can’t remember a lot about the series. I’ve tried to block most of it out of my memory bank.”
What Reception Awaits in South Africa
Australia have returned to South Africa since the scandal but only for white-ball cricket, with a proposed Test tour in 2021 cancelled due to Covid-19. England fans regularly teased their Ashes rivals after the ball-tampering scandal, with some dressing up as sandpaper to make their point.
Former Proteas all-rounder Shaun Pollock said: “I don’t think it’ll be overly hostile.”
“Over here, there’s been quite a few replays of the 2018 series over the last few weeks, just to create a bit of animosity, I suppose, but when you play against Australia, people in South Africa won’t need a reason to have a go at them about some particular reason.”
“I’m sure there’ll be a few people coming dressed up in accordance with ‘Sandpapergate’, I’m sure there’ll be some continual reminding of it, but I don’t think it’ll be over the top or too intense.”
Lingering Questions
While Cricket Australia found only Warner, Smith and Bancroft were party to the plot, Bancroft said in an interview in 2021 that it was “self-explanatory” bowlers in the team had to be aware the ball was being meddled with.
Cricket Australia said they were open to investigating any new information brought to light.
The whole episode is one Australia will want to forget but will likely never be allowed to.
