The Australian Cricket Team's infamous 2018 ball-tampering saga has once again been thrown into the spotlight after Cameron Bancroft was pressed to reveal whether his teammates were aware of what was going on.
Bancroft, who was captured by cameras using sandpaper to affect the ball during a Test match against South Africa, received a nine-month ban for his involvement, while Steve Smith and David Warner were both stripped of their leadership roles and hit with one-year suspensions.
With Bancroft preparing for a country cricket stint in Durham, the 28-year-old spoke to The Guardian where he was asked to comment on whether any of the Australian bowlers at the time were aware of what was happening.
"Yeah, look, all I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part," he said.
"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 [with Bancroft himself]. Had I had better awareness I would have made a much better decision."
While Bancroft remained tight-lipped on giving a clear indication on whether his teammates knew, he was then asked the same question, which he hesitated to answer again before saying: "Uh … yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it's pretty, probably, self-explanatory."
Despite the fallout from the scandal, Australian coach Justin Langer last year said he was confident his team has regained the respect of international cricket.
"But I think where we have come from two years ago, we had to earn respect back internationally. We had to make Australians back home proud of us and hopefully we've done that, on and off the cricket field," he said.
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/cameron-bancrofts-admission-over-balltampering-saga/4e1dc795-5955-45da-acd5-1cb5f02fa991
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