Cricket Australia hints reopening 'Sandpaper Gate' investigation after Bancroft's sensational revelations

Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft’s indirect revelation of the involvement of the fast bowlers in the infamous sandpaper gate scandal has sparked a new debate. In a statement to Fox Cricket on Saturday night, May 15, a Cricket Australia spokesperson has confirmed that they might reopen the investigations on the scandal after Bancroft's sensational claims about the Cape Town Test match. 

A blot in the Australian cricket history, the Cape Town Test match between South Africa and Australia found three members of the Australia team - captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to rough up one side of the ball - a process considered illegal by the International Cricket Council. 

After the visuals of the incident were caught on TV, Bancroft and Smith accepted the allegations on the post-day presser and the tainted trio was stripped of their status by the cricket board. 

Soon after Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban while the other two were ordered to stay away from all forms of the game for 12 months. Further CA barred David Warner forever from any leadership role from the Australian team and handed Smith a ban from captaincy for two years.

Just when conversations started opening about Smith being reelected as the Australian captain, Bancroft's revelations have sprung out of nowhere to put a huge dent on those aspirations. 

"The investigation conducted at the time was detailed and comprehensive. Since then, no one has presented new information to CA that casts doubt on the investigation’s findings,” a CA spokesperson was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.

“CA has maintained all along that if anyone is in possession of new information in regards to the Cape Town Test of 2018, they should come forward and present it,” he further added.

Bancroft who is currently in the UK plying his trade in the County Championship said that the tampering was done to benefit the bowlers so they must have been aware that the ball was tampered with during an interview with The Guardian. Despite not taking any names, he indirectly took jibes at the likes of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. 

“Yeah, 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 I learned through the journey and being responsible that’s where the buck stops [with Bancroft himself]. Had I had better awareness I would have made a much better decision,” Bancroft said. 

When asked further he added that it’s pretty much self-explanatory. Without saying much he has forced Cricket Australia to reconsider the stance which they took three years back. “Uh … yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it’s pretty probably self-explanatory,” he said.