AB de Villiers of South Africa during day 3 of the 3rd Test match between South Africa and Australia at PPC Newlands on March 24, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. (File photo)
Their first Test in South Africa since the 2018 tour comes with only one player from that controversial Australian trio of Warner, Bancroft, and Smith still in the team: Steve Smith. Smith lost the captaincy and was banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months. Naicker said the 2018 series had begun on a tense note, but the local broadcasters were not specifically looking for signs of cheating by the Australians, despite the incidents during the first two Tests. However, he was still handed a 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket and removed as captain.
“The way the Australians were caught was an absolute fluke,” Alvin Naicker, who was in charge of SuperSport’s live broadcast from Newlands, told BBC Sport. The scandal saw Smith, then captain, along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft found guilty of ball-tampering. Warner received the same ban and was barred from holding any leadership role in Australian cricket, while Bancroft was banned for nine months. Warner has since retired, and Bancroft is no longer part of Australia’s plans. Bancroft was caught hiding sandpaper in his trousers. Naicker and his team then replayed the footage on the stadium’s big screen. The footage brought the ball-tampering scandal into the open. In the aftermath, Smith broke down in tears during a live television interview and accepted responsibility.
Australia and South Africa began their three-Test series in Durban on Friday, renewing a rivalry that has been marked by the Sandpapergate scandal of 2018. The series marks their first Test meeting in South Africa since the infamous Sandpapergate tour of 2018, during which Australia’s Cameron Bancroft , David Warner and then-captain Steve Smith were found guilty of ball-tampering.
Earlier reporting noted: “The way the Australians were caught was an absolute fluke,” said Nicker, as quoted by the BBC . The two teams currently occupy the top two spots in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, with South Africa entering the series as defending champions after beating Australia in the previous cycle’s final. “Coverage of rugby and football is very coordinated. It’s camera one and two, then when the ball is dead you tell the story with close-up shots,” he explained.
Earlier reporting noted: Bancroft was caught hiding the sandpaper in his trousers, a moment that Naicker and his team replayed on the big screen. Earlier reporting noted: Australia take on South Africa in the first Test of their three-match series, starting on Friday at Kingsmead in Durban.