“Surely the bowlers must have known?” - Michael Bevan reacts to ball-tampering saga
Michael Bevan has expressed his surprise at the recent developments in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, with the former Australian batsman questioning why only three players were sanctioned. Bevan also raised questions as to why there has been no closure to the case three years on.
Bevan is the latest to speak up on the ball-tampering scandal, which shocked world cricket in 2018 and badly hurt the image of Australian cricket.
Reacting to a tweet by Cricket Australia (CA), which stated that they had contacted Cameron Bancroft in the wake of his recent comments about the Cape Town ball-tampering controversy, Bevan wrote:
“How can this still be going on 3 years later!! Surely every player must have been interviewed? Surely the bowlers must have known? How then can only 3 players be sanctioned??”
Bancroft brought the ball-tampering scandal back into focus when he recently hinted that more than three Australian players, who were punished for their role in the controversy, were in the know of what had transpired out in the middle.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, Bancroft, who is now playing county cricket in Durham, was asked by Guardian interviewer Donald McRae, whether more players were aware of the ball-tampering saga that played out in Cape Town. Bancroft replied:
"Uh... yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it's pretty, probably, self-explanatory."
Former Aussie captains Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist also questioned CA’s investigation of the ball-tampering episode, which led to the suspensions of three cricketers - Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner.
Bancroft has "nothing significant" to share with CA over the ball-tampering scandal: Reports
Even as Bancroft’s statement has sent flutters through the Australian cricket community, a report on age.com.au states that the batsman has indicated that he does not have any significant new information to share with CA over the ball-tampering controversy.
The report further informed that Bancroft had reached out to the Australian bowlers and clarified the circumstances behind his comments, which brought the ball-tampering incident back into focus.
CA had revealed on Monday that their Integrity team had reached out to Bancroft after he recently hinted that more players were aware of the ball-tampering scandal than the three who were eventually found guilty and punished.
While Bancroft was suspended for nine months, Smith and Warner were banned for a year each.