The cricketing world was shocked when the ball-tampering visuals were out during Australia’s tour to South Africa earlier this year. In the Cape Town Test, the Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft was caught altering the condition of the ball using sandpaper. When he was informed about it, he was seen hiding it inside his pants.
A huge controversy erupted and later, it was revealed that it wasn’t just him who was involved. The then Australian skipper Steve Smith confessed that he was aware of the plan to tamper the ball. He mentioned that it was a conscious choice by the team management that also included the vice-captain, David Warner.
The trio received massive criticism and Cricket Australia didn’t take it well. They were given exemplary punishments for the severe mistake. Smith and Warner were banned for a year while Cameron Bancroft received a 9-month suspension.
Warner suggested Cameron Bancroft to tamper the ball
Cameron Bancroft was settling in nicely into the Australian squad before the incident but the youngster got involved in the wrongdoings. His suspension period is about to get over on December 29. The 26-year-old will make a comeback in the Big Bash League for the Perth Scorchers.
Recently, Bancroft revealed that it was David Warner who had suggested him to tamper the ball. He had a choice to refuse but failed to do so as he wanted to make himself feel valued to the team. However, he took full responsibility for his actions and accepted that he made a mistake.
“Dave [Warner] suggested to me to carry the action out on the ball given the situation we were in in the game and I didn’t know any better,” Bancroft told Fox Sports. “I didn’t know any better because I just wanted to fit in and feel valued, really — as simple as that.”
“The decision was based around my values, what I valued at the time and I valued fitting in … you hope that fitting in earns you respect and with that, I guess, there came a pretty big cost for the mistake. I would have gone to bed and I would have felt like I had let everybody down. I would have felt like I had let the team down. I would have left like I had hurt our chances to win the game of cricket,” added Bancroft.
“I take no other responsibility but the responsibility I have on myself and my own actions because I am not a victim. I had a choice and I made a massive mistake and that is what is in my control,” Cameron Bancroft concluded.
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