Cameron Bancroft suggests Australian bowlers were aware of the sandpaper plot

Cameron Bancroft has suggested that Australian bowlers were also aware of the sandpaper plot in the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018. An internal investigation at the time by Cricket Australia found that David Warner urged Bancroft to rub sandpaper on the ball, while skipper Steve Smith decided to turn a blind eye.

As a result, Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith were suspended. However, in a startling revelation, Bancroft has hinted that the Australian bowlers were also well aware of the sandpaper ploy. Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and Nathan Lyon were the Australian bowlers who featured in the infamous Test.

After being caught in 2018, Steve Smith said the team's "leadership group" was aware of what was happening, and no names had come out at the time. But Cameron Bancroft has now suggested that the bowling group knew about the plot.

"Yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it’s pretty probably self-explanatory," an uneasy Bancroft told The Guardian when asked about who else knew about the ploy apart from the banned players.

Warner joins Smith and Bancroft in accepting the Cricket Australia sanctions https://t.co/bwvNt3Kh9J

— ICC (@ICC) April 5, 2018

Bancroft took full responsibility for his actions but hinted that there was awareness elsewhere.

"Look, all I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part. Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory. I guess one thing I learnt through the journey and being responsible is that’s where the buck stops. Had I had better awareness I would have made a much better decision," the batsman added further.

"It makes me feel a little sh*t" - Cameron Bancroft on his suspension

BREAKING: Bancroft and Smith respond to ball-tampering allegations#SAvAUS NEWS ⬇️https://t.co/GQuDizLjcq pic.twitter.com/Vbriz04doU

— ICC (@ICC) March 24, 2018

Cameron Bancroft last played for Australia in the 2019 Ashes Test against England. The batsman realizes he fluffed his chance to make a long career in international cricket after his act in the Cape Town Test.

In purely cricketing terms, “it makes me feel a little sh*t. I was just settling and then, of course, it was lost," Bancroft said of his suspension.

Cameron Bancroft has played 10 Tests in his career, amassing 446 runs at an average of 26.3, including three fifties. The batsman had played an impressive knock of 77 in Cape Town in the infamous Test in 2018 and once termed it as his best knock in international cricket.

Cameron Bancroft on the ball-tampering scandal: ‘I lost control of my values'. @donaldgmcrae's exclusive interview https://t.co/NWtGO13iuz #Cricket #CricketAustralia

— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) May 14, 2021