Cameron Bancroft eager to move on following new Sandpaper gate claims

[[{“value”:”

Western Australia head coach Beau Casson revealed that Cameron Bancroft wants to “move on and let his bat do the talking” after fresh allegations surfaced regarding the 2018 ball-tampering controversy. 

The historic scandal has resurfaced through revelations in former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja’s autobiography Sabr, set to be published on Tuesday, according to Cricinfo.

Following Cricket Australia’s investigation into the incident, only Bancroft, former Australian captain Steven Smith, and David Warner were sanctioned, with Bancroft serving a nine-month suspension from international and domestic cricket.

Reports from Nine newspapers, as cited by Cricinfo, state that Khawaja’s book alleges sandpaper was discussed and deployed as early as the second Test in Gqeberha, preceding the infamous Cape Town match.

Khawaja claimed Bancroft volunteered to use sandpaper during Gqeberha’s opening innings when reverse swing was prominent. In extracts published by News Corp, Usman Khawaja detailed how the ball was retrieved near the boundary where umpires placed it before a session.

“We all knew that the umpire would drop the ball on the boundary as we went out onto the field,” Khawaja wrote, as quoted by Cricinfo.

“Straightaway, Bull [Warner] said, ‘Well, I can’t do it – they’re all over me.’ I was never going to do it, nor did I think anyone else would. So I just laughed. Then, Cameron Bancroft, who was only six games into his Test career and maybe wanting to fit in, said, ‘I’ll do it’,” it stated

“Because all teams were messing around with the ball – in Shield cricket and world cricket too – for Bangers [Bancroft], it wasn’t even that big a deal. Some of the boys asked, ‘You sure?’ Bangers replied, ‘Yeah, no worries – it’ll be easy,’ he added.

Casson praises Bancroft’s professionalism

Addressing Khawaja’s revelations, Western Australia coach Beau Casson stated that Bancroft remains focused entirely on his batting rather than revisiting past events.

“The situation’s a long time ago. I think he’s keen to move on and let his bat do the talking,” Casson told reporters after the match, as quoted by Cricinfo. 

“You can’t control everything. The way he’s handled it, over the past couple of weeks and over the years gone by, it speaks volumes of the way he’s done that. He certainly sets the example of how to go about being a professional cricketer.”

It is uncertain whether Bancroft will publicly address Khawaja’s statements. Unlike Smith and Warner, who resumed long international careers post-suspension, Bancroft played just two Test matches during the 2019 Ashes tour and has not featured for Australia since.

“}]]