Sport

Cameron Bancroft reveals David Warner asked him to tamper with the ball

Dec 27, 2018

Speaking to Adam Gilchrist in an interview aired on Fox Sports, Cameron Bancroft revealed it was Warner who had suggested using the sandpaper. Source: Twitter - Fox Cricket

Cameron Bancroft revealed it was then-vice-captain David Warner who asked him to tamper with the ball in the infamous sandpaper incident in Cape Town that saw him handed a nine-month ban.

Speaking to Adam Gilchrist in an interview aired on Fox Sports during the lunch break on day one of the Boxing Day Test, Bancroft revealed it was Warner who had suggested using the sandpaper.

“Dave [Warner] suggested to me to carry the action out on the ball given the situation we were in in the game and I didn’t know any better,” Bancroft said.

“I didn’t know any better because I just wanted to fit in and feel valued really, as simple as that.

“The decision was based around my values, what I valued at the time and I valued fitting in … you hope that fitting in earns you respect and with that, I guess, there came a pretty big cost for the mistake.”

"Dave suggested to me to carry out the action" Cameron Bancroft sits down with @gilly381 in an open and honest interview on the Cape Town ball-tampering incident. https://t.co/Q4jKB3Iqgj pic.twitter.com/x022uDtiI3

— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) December 26, 2018

He said he had been in a tough spot and said he felt like he would have let his team down if he did not follow through with the plan.

“I would have gone to bed and I would have felt like I had let everybody down. I would have felt like I had let the team down. I would have left like I had hurt our chances to win the game of cricket,” Bancroft said.

Meanwhile Smith, who was banned for 12 months, revealed last week that he saw the pair talking and said “I don’t want to know”.

“That was my leadership failure. It was the potential for something to happen and it went on and happened out in the field and I had the opportunity to stop it at that point.”

However Bancroft and Smith have now been criticised after coming out and adding fuel to the ball tampering scandal. Former Australian batsman Dean Jones led the criticism, slamming the pair for their interviews.

What these interviews have done… and when Warner does his with 60 mins… will just throw more fuel on the fire. All 3 were badly advised. Just keep quiet boys… do your time and play…. that’s if they get that chance again.

— Dean Jones AM (@ProfDeano) December 26, 2018

Meanwhile Channel 9 sports presenter Tim Gilbert blasted Bancroft for going public.

“What he needed to do was say nothing about that,” Gilbert said on the Today show, according to news.com.au. “Just have his hand up, his ban is served — he’s actually playing for the Scorchers this weekend — there’s no value in pointing the finger now.

“He had everyone’s compassion. Everyone thought this is the young guy that really got railroaded here but now he’s come out and said it … it’s put a bit of a mark against his name.”