Former Australia captain Tim Paine has accused South Africa of ball tampering in the Johannesburg Test just a few days after the infamous sandpaper-gate scandal in Cape Town that rocked world cricket in 2018. (More Cricket News)
Tim Paine alleges that the South African teamౠ tampered with the ball to gain an advantage in the 2018 Johannesburg Test. Australia lost that Test series 1-3.
Former Australia captain Tim Paine has accused South Africa of ball tampering in the Johannesburg Test just a few days after the infamous sandpaper-gate scandal in Cape Town that rocked world cricket in 2018. (More Cricket News)
The fallout of t🌳he Cape Town Test, the third of the four-match series, had been huge.
Then captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were slapped with a one-year international ban while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine mon꧙ths by Cric෴ket Australia for their role in the scandal. It also prompted a cultural review into Australian cricket.
However, Paine claimed in his new book that the Proteas indulged in ball tampering in the fourth Test at N♓ew Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
"I saw it happen in the f🦋ourth Test of that series,” Paine wrote in his new autoꦑbiography 'The Paid Price.'
“Think about that. After everything tha๊t had happened in Cape Town, after all the headlines and bans a𒈔nd carry on.
“I was standing at the bowlers’ end in the next Test when a shot came up on the screen 𝔍of a South African player at mid-off having a huge crack at the ball," he added.
Paine was part of the Australian playing XI in Cape Town (March 22-26) and theꦓn captained the side in Johannesburg (March 30-April 03).꧅
Paine, ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwho stepped down from Test captaincy last year, also alleged that the incident was covered up by the broadcasters.
“The television dire�♛�ctor, who had played an active role in catching out Cam, immediately pulled the shot off the screen.
“We went to the umpires about it, which might se🌠em a bit poor, but we’d been slaughtered and were convinced they’d been up to it since the first Test.
“But the♕ footage got lost. As it would,” Paine𒁃 said.
The wicket-keeper admitted he couldn't quite believe wha﷽t he was seeing on TV, denying the speculation that the dressing room was aware of the plan (of the sandpaper-gate scandal).
“Cricketers keep a lot to themselves, even in the h🀅appiest teams. Coach🥃es and support staff do the same,” Paine wrote.
“Everyone out there was shocked when they looked up on the big screen and saw Cameron Bancroft with a piece of 🌌sandpaper in his hand. I was stunned. We all♏ were.”
The 37-year-old said that ball tamperi𒁃ng was commonplace in cricket adding that he had seen players “taping small pieces o🉐f sandpaper onto their fingers” in the past.
Paine felt the team should have taken more respoꦐnsibility a💞nd supported the trio of Smith, Bancroft, and Warner in the aftermath of the scandal.
“Steve and C🌺am were alone. Things were tense and horrible. I think Davey felt abandoned and that nobody was looking out for ♍him.
“Everyone was a part of it𓄧 to some degree — would it have worked out better for those three players if we had owned it as💖 a team? I think it would have,” Paine wrote.
“On reflection all three of them should have had more support. Maybe we could have done more as a group or organisation, not enough people put themsel꧟ves in their shoes.”