CAMERAS TIPPED OFF TO CHEATING
SOUTH AFRICA’S SUSPICIONS ON THE MARK
STEVE SMITH’s claim that the ball tampering scandal was a one-off mistake has been challenged by South African suspicions it happened earlier in the series.
South African broadcasters were tipped off that Australia was tampering with the ball in the first two Tests.
A spotfire burnt briefly in the second Test when South African batsmen complained to umpires that David Warner was using tape on his hand to rough up the ball
From that point South Africa’s SuperSport network made it a mission to track the ball during its path from keeper Tim Paine to the bowler, which enabled them to capture Cameron Bancroft’s disgraceful act in Cape Town.
Commentator and former South African Test fast bowler Fanie de Villiers told RSN radio he sensed before the scandal erupted Australia might have been doing something untoward with the ball.
“I said earlier on, that if they could get reverse swing in the 26th, 27th, 28th over then they’re doing something different from what everyone else does,’’ de Villiers said.
“We actually said to our cameramen … go out have a look boys. They’re using something. They searched for an hour and a half until they saw something and then they started following Bancroft and they actually caught him out at the end.
“It’s impossible for the ball to get altered like that on cricket wickets where we knew there was grass on, not a Pakistani wicket where there’s
cracks every centimetre. We’re talking about grass-covered wicket where you have to do something else to alter the shape, the roughness of the ball on the one side. You have to get the one side wetter, heavier than the other side.’
“Australian teams getting reverse swing before the 30th over, they had to do something. If you use cricket ball and scratch it against a normal iron or steel gate or anything, anything steel on it, it reverse swings immediately. That’s the kind of extra alteration you need to do.’’
Australia had their own suspicions about South Africa’s tactics.
One Australian player who walked out to the wicket before day two of the first Test at Durban told a commentator “how the **** could they get the ball to reverse swing after 18 overs yesterday?’’
That heightened Australia’s desperation to stay on pace in the race for reverse swing.
Englander Stuart Broad also had doubts.
“I saw Steve Smith say it was the first time,’’ he said. “To me, it’s surprising – why they would change a method that’s been working?”