Pat Cummins (Image credit: Agencies(
South African sports broadcaster SuperSport has taken a dig at Australia ahead of their first Test series in South Africa since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, also known as Sandpapergate. Australia will face South Africa in a three-match series, with the opening Test scheduled at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, October 9, at 1 pm IST. Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon also played at Newlands in 2018. Australia, meanwhile, will look to collect points in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. The second Test will be played in Gqeberha from October 18. The third Test, scheduled to begin at Newlands on October 27, will bring Australia back to the venue where the 2018 scandal unfolded.
Australia’s current squad includes several players who were part of the team during the Newlands scandal. Steve Smith, who was Australia’s captain at the time, is now vice-captain under Pat Cummins. Matthew Renshaw, who joined the squad as a replacement for the final Test of that series, is also back in the team. The scandal has received more attention in the Australian media than in South Africa in recent weeks. However, the team could still face some reminders of the incident during the tour.
South Africa enter the series as reigning World Test Championship winners after beating Australia in last year’s final at Lord’s.