The ball-tampering scandal that shook world cricket in March 2018 saw Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft handed bans ranging from nine months to a year for their roles in attempting to alter the condition of the ball during a Test match in Cape Town.
For the first time since the incident, Australia are preparing for a Test series in South Africa, with the first Test in Durban beginning Friday.
The Incident
The scandal unfolded on day three of the third Test in Cape Town while South Africa were batting in their second innings. Bancroft was caught on camera trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing through the air. After realising he had been spotted, Bancroft attempted to hide the sandpaper in his trousers.
At the end of the day’s play, Bancroft and Australia captain Smith admitted to ball-tampering in a press conference, with Smith stating the plan had been cooked up by the ‘leadership group’ at lunch, though they did not initially admit to using sandpaper.
Immediate Consequences
Smith and vice-captain Warner stood down from their leadership roles for the remainder of the Cape Town Test but continued playing. Australia slumped to a 322-run defeat after being rolled for just 107 in their second innings, with Warner top-scoring with 32, Bancroft making 26 and Smith seven. Tim Paine assumed the captaincy.
The trio were sent home ahead of the fourth Test, which Australia lost by 492 runs to fall to a 3-1 series defeat. Cricket Australia found each player had engaged in conduct against the spirit of the game and harmful to its interests.
The Punishments
Warner was found to have led the plot to alter the ball’s condition, including guiding Bancroft on how to use the sandpaper. He received a one-year ban and was told he would never be considered for a leadership position within the team again.
Smith was also suspended for 12 months after failing to prevent a plan he was aware of and making misleading comments. He was informed he would not be able to take a leadership role until at least 12 months after the conclusion of his ban.
Bancroft received a nine-month suspension from international and domestic cricket.
Additional Fallout
Smith and Warner were removed from the 2018 IPL, where they were due to play for Rajasthan Royals and SunRisers Hyderabad respectively. Bancroft saw Somerset cancel the deal he had signed to play county cricket.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann was cleared of any involvement in the scandal but opted to resign after the fourth Test against South Africa. Lehmann now coaches Northamptonshire in county cricket, leading the Steelbacks to the 2026 T20 Blast title.
Without Smith, Warner and Bancroft, Australia lost Test series away to Pakistan and at home to India, before a 2-0 win in Sri Lanka preceded their comeback series, the 2-2 Ashes draw in England in the summer of 2019.
Debate Over Severity
Some argued the sanctions were too severe, including former India internationals Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh and broadcaster and ex-Hampshire captain Mark Nicholas. The late Shane Warne, who died in 2022, said while it was “embarrassing” for Australia to be caught up in the scandal, he felt worldwide “hysteria” led to a punishment “not fitting the crime”.
Smith and Bancroft gave emotional press conferences on their returns to Australia. Bancroft later admitted he had considered quitting and becoming a yoga teacher during his enforced break from the game.
While all three players went on to represent Australia again, Bancroft’s international career arguably never truly recovered with his two Tests at the start of the 2019 Ashes his last international matches to date. Warner retired from internationals in 2024. Warner applied to have his lifetime captaincy ban lifted but then revoked that in 2022. The suspension was ultimately lifted and he went on to lead Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.
Smith’s Reflections
Speaking recently to News Corp, Smith said the experience was traumatic. “That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that, in a way,” Smith said.
“The 24-48 hours after being told I was getting banned for a year, going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing a press conference… I still have little flashbacks here and there of it.”
Smith added: “I felt like I was kind of thrown to the wolves through Johannesburg airport. I didn’t have any support there at all. It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial few days after. The mental state I was in was not great.”
“I’ve tried to kind of erase a lot of 2018 and what happened. I can’t remember a lot about the series. I’ve tried to block most of it out of my memory bank.”
Expected Reception in South Africa
Australia have returned to South Africa since the scandal but only for white-ball cricket, with a proposed Test tour in 2021 cancelled due to Covid-19.
Former Proteas all-rounder Shaun Pollock said he doesn’t expect the reaction to be overly hostile. “I don’t think it’ll be overly hostile,” Pollock said. “Over here, there’s been quite a few replays of the series over the last few weeks, just to create a bit of animosity, I suppose, but when you play against Australia, people in South Africa won’t need a reason to have a go at them about some particular reason.”
“I’m sure there’ll be a few people coming dressed up in accordance with the scandal, I’m sure there’ll be some continual reminding of it, but I don’t think it’ll be over the top or too intense.”
Lingering Questions
While Cricket Australia found only Warner, Smith and Bancroft were party to the plot, Bancroft said in an interview in 2021 that it was “self-explanatory” bowlers in the team had to be aware the ball was being meddled with. Cricket Australia said they were open to investigating any new information brought to light.
The whole episode is one Australia will want to forget but will likely never be allowed to.
