The 2018 Australian Ball-Tampering Scandal, popularly known as the Sandpaper gate Scandal was a deliberate cheating incident in the sport of cricket surrounding the Australian national cricket team. Some heavyweight cricketers were involved in the foul playing that led to widespread criticism and severe action by the regional as well as the international regulating agencies.
Sandpaper Gate Scandal 2018 Incident
The Australian team was in South Africa to play a full-fledged four-match Test series against the Proteas in February-March 2018. During the Third Test match at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town, television cameras caught Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft trying to rough up one side of the ball with a Sandpaper that would subsequently make it swing in flight.
As soon as Bancroft realized that he was shown on the television coverage, he tried to hide the yellow object (Sandpaper) in the front of his trousers. Soon, the on-field umpires approached Bancroft where he showed them a dark microfiber sunglass pouch that was in his pocket. Observing the condition of the ball, the umpires decided to not award penalty runs or replace the ball as it seemed in an unaltered position.
However, Australian skipper Steve Smith addressed the media at the end of the day’s press conference where he admitted that he and his teammates had attempted to alter the condition of the ball using short-length adhesive tapes that creates an abrasive surface. Five days later after an internal investigation, Smith confirmed that it was a sandpaper that is commonly used by the batsmen to shine their bats.
Backlash from Cricket Fraternity
After the conclusion of the Third Test match, Match Referee Andy Pycroft charged Cameron Bancroft with a Level 2 offence of an attempt to alter the condition of the ball. He was charged 75% of the match fee and handed over 3 demerit points on his record. CEO of International Cricket Council (ICC) David Richardson charged skipper Steve Smith with conduct that is seriously against the spirit of the game and handed a punishment of four demerit points, 100% of match fees and a one-match suspension.
The Sandpaper Scandal tormented the reputation of Cricket Australia (CA) and the widespread incident was highly criticized by the cricketing fraternity. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull condemned the incident by calling CA Chairman David Peever and expressing his disappointment. A thorough investigation was launched by ICC and also Cricket Australia to initiate a deeper probe into the issue.
Cricket Australia CA) Response
Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland apologized to the fans and critics and stated that Captain Smith and Vice-Captain Warner have stepped down from their leadership roles for the remainder of the match. The two along with Bancroft were charged with disgrace and suspended from international cricket. They were immediately brought back home by the security personnel.
Tim Paine was named as the captain of the team for the fourth Test match. The trio was replaced by Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw and Glenn Maxwell who were a part of Australia’s squad for the fourth and final test against South Africa.
Steve Smith was scrapped from all the leadership roles for the national team. Tim Paine was endorsed as Australia’s skipper across all three formats of the game. Later, Aaron Finch took over the ODI and T20I captaincy from Paine.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann also stepped down from his position after the conclusion of the fourth Test. However, Lehmann was later cleared of the investigation as he had no involvement and Cricket Australia stated that he would not resign.
Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were sanctioned by Cricket Australia for breaching article 2.3.5 of the Code of Conduct for foul play, conduct against the spirit of the game, unbecoming national representative and inflicting harmful actions against the interests of the game leading to disrepute.
Findings
Steve Smith and David Warner were emotional upon their arrival in Australia. They were sharply criticized by the fans and the sporting fraternity. The BCCI also condemned the incident and restricted them to feature at IPL 2018. Warner and Smith had stepped down from their captaincy for IPL franchises Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
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David Warner
David Warner was found to be responsible for developing and executing the plan. He also instructed Bancroft on the doings. He also failed to prevent the plan and did not admit the breach to the match officials. As a result, he was awarded a twelve-month suspension from all forms of international and domestic cricket and will not be considered for any future leadership roles for Australia.
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Steve Smith
Steve Smith was found guilty of knowing the plan but not taking any action to prevent it. He had also misled the match officials by insisting Bancroft hide the Sandpaper in his trousers. Smith was handed a 12-month suspension from all forms of international and domestic cricket and he would not be considered for any leadership roles for 12 months after the lapse of his suspension.
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Cameron Bancroft
Cameron Bancroft was a party to the incident as he executed the plan and hid from the match officials. Bancroft was given a 9-month suspension from all forms of international and domestic cricket and he would not be considered for any leadership roles for 12 months after the lapse of his suspension.
All three cricketers were allowed to play club cricket and maintain relations with the cricket community. Apart from that, they were also encouraged to spare 100 hours of voluntary services in community cricket.
Sandpaper Gate Scandal Aftermath & Return
The Australian National Cricket team briefly struggled after the suspension of Smith, Warner and Bancroft. They lost the third-test match by a margin of 202 runs and eventually failed to impress the fans in the fourth test as they inflicted their heaviest test defeat by 492 runs in the fourth test, thus losing the series by 1-3.
Warner and Smith’s ban was revoked on 29 March 2021. They were named in Australia’s squad for the 2019 World Cup in England where they marked their return to international cricket. The trio marked their Test return against England at the Ashes on August 1. Paine continued to lead Australia whereas the incumbent skipper across all the three formats is Pat Cummins.
A documentary based on the complete aftermath of the Sandpaper Gate Scandal, named ‘The Test’ was featured on Amazon Prime Video and is currently available.
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