Australian bowlers deny prior knowledge of ball tampering
Subramaniam ThiluxanDesk Reporter
Posted - 2021-05-18T20:28:53+06:00
Updated - 2021-05-18T20:28:53+06:00
Australia's four Test bowlers denied any prior knowledge about the ball-tampering incident that happened in the Test between Australia and South Africa in 2018.
One of the biggest controversies in the game was the ball-tampering incident that happened during the Test series between South Africa and Australia in South Africa, 2018 March. Australian player Cameron Bancroft was caught red-handed in telecasting cameras when he applied sandpaper on the match ball.
Following the incident, Cameron Bancroft along with Steve Smith, captain of Australia at that time and David Warner were found guilty of the incident. Bancroft was handed over a ban of nine months while the other two were banned for a year from international cricket.
Meanwhile, years after that incident, Cameron Bancroft made a shocking allegation that the other team members were also aware of the ball-tampering. The statement from the Aussie batsman once again created hype and controversy around the incident. Even some of the former cricketers also raised their voices in support of Bancroft.
But Australia's four Test bowlers
,
, Mitch Starc and Nathan Lyon, who were in the bowling department in that particular match, denied that accusation. They jointly released an official statement to clarify the new controversy bounded around them.
The Australian bowlers denied any prior knowledge to them about the ball-tampering incident. The Aussie bowlers requested people and media to put a fulls top to the rumours and allegations going around them in the last couple of days.
The official statement:
"We pride ourselves on our honesty. So it's been disappointing to see that our integrity has been questioned by some journalists and past players in recent days in regard to the Cape Town Test of 2018.
We have already answered questions many times on this issue, but we feel compelled to put the key facts on the record again:
We did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands
And to those who, despite the absence of evidence, insist that 'we must have known about the use of a foreign substance simply because we are bowlers, we say this: The umpires during that Test match, Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth, both very respected and experienced umpires, inspected the ball after the images surfaced on the TV coverage and did not change it because there was no sign of damage.
None of this excuses what happened on the field that day at Newlands. It was wrong and it should never have happened.
We've all learned valuable lessons and we'd like to think the public can see a change for the better in terms of the way we play, the way we behave and respect the game. Our commitment to improving as people and players will continue.
We respectfully request an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo.
It has gone on too long and it is time to move on."