Australia Bowlers Respond To The Allegations Following Cricket Australia's Investigations Based On Cameron Bancroft's Statement

Australia’s bowlers that were part of the infamous third Test between them and South Africa, where the ball-tampering controversy erupted, have responded to Cameron Bancroft’s claims. Cameron Bancroft’s interview with the Guardian where he implied that the knowledge of the incident could be extended to more than three members of the team seems to have reopened the case. Nevertheless, a statement by Cricket Australia revealed the bowlers strongly denying the charge and ask for the rumours to stop.

Over the last few days, several former Australian cricketers have called for an in-depth investigation into the matter. The likes of Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Ian Chappell, Michael Bevan refuse to believe that the bowlers had nothing to do with it. Former Australian skipper Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were the only ones convicted of the offence to illegally gain reverse swing. After Cameron Bancroft admitted that he tried to alter the condition of the ball using the sandpaper, Steve Smith revealed that the “leadership group” knew about it.

After Cricket Australia decided to reopen the case, they released the statement supposedly given by the bowlers, who claimed to pride themselves on honesty; hence, they are disappointed that some journalists have questioned their integrity. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon, who were part of that game, supposedly said that they answered all the questions relating to that incident and reacted again with all the facts. They stated, having been unaware of a foreign substance taken on the field until they saw the images on the big screen.

“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 in regard to 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,” Cricket Australia’s statement claimed.

We respectfully request an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo: Cricket Australia

Cricket Australia’s statement highlighted the umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth inspecting the ball at that time and finding no damage; hence, the discussion about the bowlers must know makes zero sense. The bowlers refused to justify the happenings in Newlands and are firm in continuing to be better human beings and players moving forward to gain respect from the Australian public. They concluded by requesting to end the rumours and asking everyone to move on from that.

“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 rumour-mongering and innuendo. It has gone on too long and it is time to move on,” it added further.

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