David Saker (ANI Image)
The 2018 Australian ball-tampering scandal has resurfaced with fresh allegations, eight years after the infamous Sandpaper-gate incident rocked international cricket. Former Australia bowling coach David Saker has reportedly been accused of urging Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft not to disclose that sandpaper was used to tamper with the ball during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
“With a smile on his face, he said, ‘Bangers, whatever you’re doing, we need more of it. “Guys, I don’t care what happens, but Test cricketers are too good against the straight ball,” the coach was quoted as saying in the memoir. A report by the Sydney Morning Herald has now identified Saker as the unnamed coach repeatedly referenced in Khawaja’s book, adding another dimension to the controversy. he referred to an unnamed coach while recounting the events leading up to the ball-tampering incident Although Khawaja did not identify Saker by name in Sabr. It’s wet out there – we just need more of it’. Then I saw Bangers pick up a piece of sandpaper and put it in his pocket. The coach gave both me and Cameron a wry smile of satisfaction and walked away,” Khawaja wrote. The former Australia opener also recalled the coach encouraging the bowling group to find ways to generate reverse swing, even if it meant taking unconventional measures. “We need to get the ball shifting when it gets old. I don’t care what you have to do, or how, but we need to get it moving in the air. That’s the only chance we have,” the unnamed coach reportedly added.
In one passage, Khawaja described a conversation between Bancroft and a coach during the lunch break before the latter was caught using sandpaper.