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It has been almost eight years since the Sandpaper Gate incident, which left Steve Smith and the Australian National Cricket Team in embarrassment in front of the global audience. Steve Smith is set to return to South Africa again for a Test series, for the first time since the Sandpaper Gate incident.
During the third Test match in Cape Town in 2018, a group of Australian cricketers was spotted using a piece of sandpaper to tear the surface of the red ball. Cameras all around the park caught the moment. David Smith, Steve Smith, and Cameron Bancroft were banned from international cricket for the illegal act for different time periods.
Australia set to face South Africa in South Africa
When the Australian cricket team walks into the grounds for another Test series against South Africa in South Africa, the moments from the sandpaper gate scandal will haunt Steve Smith. One of the batters of the 'fab four' confessed in a recent interview that he is still not used to the camera flashes.
The Australian cricket team is currently in Zimbabwe for an ODI series. After the conclusion of the series against Zimbabwe, the Baggy Greens will tour to South Africa for a multi-format series.
That was a traumatic experience: Steve Smith on the Sandpapergate incident
Before the much-anticipated Test series, these two teams will be involved in an ODI contest. Ahead of the series, Smith shared his thoughts from his last South Africa tour, which turned out to be nothing less than a nightmare for him.
"That was a traumatic experience in my life, and when I hear the flash of a camera, it makes me revisit that in a way. The 24-48 hours of being told by James Sutherland (then Cricket Australia chief executive) that I was getting banned for a year. That and going through the airport in Johannesburg, getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing that press conference. I still have little flashbacks here and there of it," Steve Smith said to News Corp.
"It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial period, a few days after. The mental state I was in was not great. That’s somewhere I’d like not to get to again, but I certainly learned from that and have been able to move forward with my life. I can’t remember a lot about the series. I’ve tried to block most of it out of my memory bank,” he added.
Steve Smith is now used to the boos
The batter further mentioned that as he grows older, he is now used to the criticism and loud boos on the ground, as he has heard a lot throughout his career across different grounds and continents.
“It’s something I’m kind of used to. I’ve coped a lot at times away from home at different venues across my career, and it’s something that I take in my own stride. I use it as motivation to try and go out and do well and try to take a positive from it,” he said.
