Sandpapergate: The Unseen Elements That Exposed Australia's Scandal
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How an 'Absolute Fluke' Exposed the Sandpapergate Scandal
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[Figure caption: How sandpapergate was exposed]
By Stephan Shemilt, Cricket Correspondent
Published 2 hours ago
According to the man who helped catch them, it was blind luck. Sandpapergate, the scandal that engulfed Australia eight years ago, was blatant cheating played out in real time on live television to a global audience.
As the Aussies prepare for their first Test series in South Africa since the ball-tampering controversy in Cape Town, the director of the TV coverage that day admits serendipity took down Steve Smith and co.
"The way the Australians were caught was an absolute fluke,” Alvin Naicker, in charge of SuperSport's live broadcast from Newlands, tells BBC Sport. Not just one fluke, but a series of them.
That the "leadership group" of the Australian team hatched their plan during the lunch break on that Saturday afternoon in March 2018; that an alert camera operator lingered on Cameron Bancroft when others would have turned their attention elsewhere; that the big-screen controller showed in the ground what was also being broadcast to millions around the world.
In understanding how Bancroft was rumbled, a little knowledge of how live cricket is shown on TV is helpful.
"Coverage of rugby and football is very coordinated," explains Naicker, "It's camera one and two, then when the ball is dead you tell the story with close-up shots." Because cricket has so much dead time, there is a lot more storytelling. There are between 80 and 100 people coming together and putting the story together in a matter of seconds, coordinated by the director.
Captain Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and opener Bancroft later explained they cooked up the ball-tampering plot during lunch on the third day of the third Test. Reverse-swing had been a key factor in the first two Tests of a bad-tempered series: Warner clashed with Quinton de Kock in the first Test in Durban, then Smith was involved in an altercation with Kagiso Rabada in the second.
Australia were exposed before the afternoon session was done, thanks to Naicker and his team. At the time, SuperSport were not on the lookout for cheating, despite the shenanigans of the first two Tests.
"No one mentioned anything to me,” says Naicker. "The first Test in Durban spiralled out of control in terms of behaviour, then in Port Elizabeth for the second Test, there were still some fireworks going on. We still didn't understand."
Reports written live by ESPNCricinfo suggest the ball began reversing in the first hour after lunch, 35 overs into South Africa's second innings. In the 43rd over, Bancroft was caught in the act.
"The ball went to the wicketkeeper, then to Bancroft and he was shining the ball," says Naicker. "First it was on his pants, then the next ball, the cameraman happened to stay on Bancroft because he was not shining the ball on his pants, but he was rubbing the ball."