Western Australia coach Beau Casson stated that Cameron Bancroft wants to focus on cricket following fresh allegations by Usman Khawaja in his new book regarding the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, putting the controversy behind him.
Bancroft urged to move on
Western Australia coach Beau Casson has said that Cameron Bancroft is keen to “move on and let his bat do the talking” following fresh claims made by former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja regarding the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, popularly known as the Sandpaper incident, according to Cricinfo.
Khawaja has reignited the controversy through revelations in his autobiography Sabr, which is scheduled to be published on Tuesday. Several claims in the book reportedly centre on Bancroft, who was handed a nine-month ban from international and domestic cricket for his involvement in the incident. Only Bancroft, former Australia captain Steven Smith and David Warner were sanctioned following a Cricket Australia investigation into the scandal.
Details of Khawaja’s claims
According to reports in Nine newspapers, as quoted by Cricinfo, Khawaja’s book includes claims that sandpaper was discussed and used during the second Test at Gqeberha, before the infamous Cape Town Test. Khawaja also claimed that Bancroft had volunteered to use sandpaper during the first innings of the Gqeberha Test, in which the ball swung significantly.
In extracts published by News Corp, Khawaja reportedly described how the ball was collected near the boundary, where the umpires had left it at the beginning of 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,” it added.
Response from team management
Responding to the fresh claims, Western Australia coach Beau Casson said Bancroft wanted to put the controversy behind him and concentrate on his performances with the bat. Bancroft, who faced a nine-month ban following the 2018 incident, has remained at the centre of renewed discussion surrounding the scandal following Khawaja’s revelations.
“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 remains unclear whether Bancroft will respond to Khawaja’s latest claims. While Smith and Warner went on to have extended international careers following the Sandpaper Gate incident, Bancroft has largely remained out of the international setup. He made a brief return to the Test side during the 2019 Ashes tour, featuring in two matches, but has not represented Australia at the international level since.
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