Sandpaper Test: Aussie bowlers release a joint statement to avoid “rumour-mongering and innuendo”

Following an interview from Cameron Bancroft, in which he said, ‘probably self-explanatory’ on whether the bowlers knew that the ball was being tampered with or not, journalists were seen questioning the role of the bowlers playing Sandpaper Test. There were allegations made on bowlers from that particular Test- Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon.

Hence in a response to those allegations and an interview from Bancroft, the above-mentioned bowlers have released a joint statement, clarifying their stand and stopping rumors. They said they are disappointed with their integrity being questioned. Here is their whole statement titled “To The Australian Public” –

“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 regarding 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 rumor-mongering and innuendo. It has gone on too long and it is time to move on,” read the joint statement from the Aussie bowlers.

Cricket Australia’s interim chief Nick Hockley said Cameron Bancroft has no new information about the incident.
“Our integrity unit reached out to Cam (Bancroft) off the back of the media report and asked him directly whether he had any new information since the original investigation, and he’s come back and confirmed overnight that he has no new information. So we thank Cam for confirming that,” Hockley told cricket.com.au.

Former Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist said Cricket Australia (CA) missed the opportunity to investigate the incident properly.
“I think anyone would be naïve to think that people weren’t aware of what’s going on about ball maintenance and I don’t think CA wanted to go there,” Gilchrist said today.

Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban by CA, while then captain Steve Smith and then vice-captain David Warner were barred leadership titles and punished with one-year suspensions from all forms of cricket.