CA open to new information about Newlands scandal

Cricket Australia (CA) says anyone with new evidence related to the Cape Town ball-tampering saga in 2018 should present their information to the governing body.

Former Test opener Cameron Bancroft has reignited discussion about the scandal from three years ago, saying Australia's bowlers' knowledge of the sandpaper plot is "self-explanatory".

Bancroft was issued a nine-month ban by CA for his role in the incident, while skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were stripped of their leadership titles and given year-long suspensions.

The formal review at the time, conducted by CA's then head of integrity Iain Roy, cleared everybody else in the touring party of any wrongdoing or knowledge of the plot.

The investigation was completed between the third and fourth Tests of that 2018 series and included interviews with Australian players and support staff in which Roy was accompanied by two International Cricket Council integrity officers.

Bancroft, having joined Durham for this county season, revisited the issue during an interview with The Guardian this week.

"All I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part," Bancroft said, when asked whether Australia's bowlers knew what he was doing.

"Obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory."

Interviewer Donald McRae reported that he asked Bancroft to clarify whether some of Australia's bowlers knew, to which the West Australian replied: "Yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it's pretty probably self-explanatory".

In a statement on Saturday, CA said they were open to receiving new information about what happened at Newlands.

"CA has maintained all along that if anyone is in possession of new information in regards to the Cape Town Test of 2018 they should come forward and present it," a statement read.

"The investigation conducted at the time was detailed and comprehensive. Since then, no one has presented new information to CA that casts doubt on the investigation’s findings."

Bancroft added he "lost control" of his values at Newlands.

"What had become important to me was being liked, being well valued, feeling really important to my teammates," he said.

"Like I was contributing something by using sandpaper on a cricket ball."

Smith and Warner have successfully returned to the upper echelon of international cricket, each winning an Allan Border Medal since their time in exile.

Bancroft, who did open for Australia again but was dropped after playing two Ashes Tests in 2019, has not fared as well. Will Pucovski, Joe Burns, Marcus Harris and Matthew Wade have recently been selected ahead of Bancroft at the top of Australia's batting order.

"That's a goal and a door I haven't shut for myself," Bancroft said, when asked about the possibility of a Test recall.

"But it's also something I'm not mentally stressing about and obsessing about either."

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